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UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


SCHOOL  OF  LAW 
LIBRARY 


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in  2007  with  funding  from 

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ART  OF  ADVOCATES 


AND 


PUBLIC  SPEAKING 


by 


HON.  J.  W.  DONOVAN 


Author    of 
Modern  Jury  Trials,"  "  Tact  in  Court.''   "  Speeches  and 
Speechmaking,"     Etc. 


Rochester,  N.  Y.  : 

Williamson  Law  Book  Company, 

1905. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress  in  the  year  One  Thousard  Nine 
Hundred  and  Five  by  Williamson  Law  Book  Company,  of  Rochester, 
N.  Y..  in  the  office    of    the  Librarian  of    Congress,  Washington,  D.  C.' 


r 


Wo* 


PREFACE 


What  a  young  advocate  or  orator  needs  is  the  art  to 
start.  He  will  gain  the  details  by  first  practice.  He 
must  first  learn  to  balance  himself,  and  "  sit  in  tht  saddle." 
After  hearing  a  few  scores  of  good  advocates  in  actual 
trial  work,  and  as  many  scores  of  public  speeches  just 
after  the  War,  when  orators  and  advocates  were  inspired 
by  great  events,  and  then  for  a  dozen  years  dealing  with 
them  in  Court,  I  have  gathered  a  score  of  their  stories, 
hits,  turns,  methods,  and  ways  of  winning  their  clients 
and  verdicts,  and  how  they  made  good. 

I  assume  that  older  men  know  how,  and  need  no  text 
or  prompting.  But  I  know  that  young  men  stumble, 
stammer,  excuse,  and  fail  often  by  not  knowing  how  or 
where  to  find  cases,  stories,  instances  with  which  to  start 
in,  win  out,  and  turn  defeats  into  victory,  poverty  into 
plenty,  or  clients  into  their  offices.  So  that  it  is  the 
young  man  who  must  "  make  good  "  before  he  can  hope 
for  success  in  Court  work,  or  speechmaking.  This  com- 
pilation is  full  of  such  practice. 

J.  W.  D. 
October,  1905. 


767708 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER   1. 

PAGES. 

To  win  in   Law;  Hints;  Examples;   Little  Things;  The 

Procession;  Abuse  of  Witness i    19 

CHAPTER    II. 

Cases:  Rules:  Samples:  How  Won:  Methods :  Events : 
Luxury  :  Self- Defense  :  The  Best  Cross-Examination  : 
Lincoln's  Law  Work;  Bide  Your  Time 16-42 

CHAPTER    III 

Abstracts  of  Arguments:  Strange  Cases;  Saved  by  a  Pic- 
ture ;  Won  by  a  Joke ;  Separating  Witnesses ;  His 
First  Case 42-74 

CHAPTER    IV. 

PUBLIC   SPEAKING. 

To  Speak  in  Public  :  How  to  Prepare  ;  To  Find  Facts : 
Things  to  Say;  Material;  Variety;  Right  Start: 
Saved  by  a  Song. 74-90 


chapter  v. 

Legends  ;  Stories  ;  Passages  ;  Extracts  ;  Starting  Matter  ; 
Variety  of  Topics  ;  How  to  Apply  Incidents 


CIIAPTKR    VI. 


Short  Addresses  ;  Value  of  a  Man  ;  Stick  to  It ;  Save  the 
Boys:  Our  Opportunity:  Time;  Flowers  on  the 
Water:  Decoraiion  Day;  Ingersoll:  Webster;  Harri- 
son; The  World  Larger 106-145 


ART  OF  ADVOCATES. 


READY  LAWYERS. 

Ready  lawyers  are  prepared  to  open  a  case  tersely,  try 
it  clearly,  argue  in  a  way  to  convince  and  persuade,  and 
so  deal  with  their  clients  and  the  public  as  to  increase 
their  business,  and  create  a  reputation  for  preparedness 
and  ability  which  will  often  call  them  into  public  duty  as 
speakers. 

To  speak  in  Pictures,  reason  in  Allegories,  instruct  by 
Examples,  and  leave  conclusions  like  a  painting  in  the 
memory,  is  the  purpose  of  this  work. 

Its  stories  are  the  windows  of  thoughts ;  its  legends  the 
drapery.  They  are  selected  and  adapted  from  the  Greek, 
Latin,  German,  Arabian,  Indian,  Chinese  and  English. 

How  little,  after  all,  can  we  say  even  to  young  men 
that  will  shape  their  careers.  Life  is  a  riddle  to  the  wise, 
a  ladder  of  errors  to  the  most,  an  experiment  to  all.  Not 
like  a  trip  across  the  world  by  land  and  water,  but  an 
unknown  journey  into  space,  with  only  the  past  to  guide 
us  into  the  accidents  beyond. 

It  is  only  a  glance  that  we  get  at  our  opportunities  as 
they  pass.  Once  gone,  they  are  gone  forever.  To  judge 
of  the  future  by  the  past  is  the  only  lamp  of  experience. 
The  examples  given  in  these  hints,  sketches  and  periods 


2  LAWYERS    WHO    SAID    THINGS. 

are  given  to  encourage  and  inspire  the  young,  and  recall 
some  scenes  to  older  counsel. 

All  law  books  are  made  up  of  cases  tried  and  decided, 
with  the  rules  they  imply  or  declare,  more  than  of 
original  matter.  History  is  a  record  of  well-known  events 
which  have  happened,  more  than  the  views  of  the 
historian,  and  compilations  of  adapted  and  original  mat- 
ter must  comprise  and  include  many  known  sayings, 
cases,  sketches  and  items  which  some  may  have  read  in 
other  citations.  A  few  are  repeated  to  show  their  use 
in  different  connections.  The  central  purpose  is  to  en- 
force their  lessons,  and  throw  light  upon  their  meaning, 
and  if  you  can  say:  "Much  of  this  I  have  read  before," 
so  much  the  better ;  but  by  far  the  greater  part  you  have 
never  read,  as  the  items  have  been  saved  through  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  furnished  either  by  bright  lawyers 
and  speakers  in  court  trials,  or  from  the  history  of  such 
trials  and  their  incidents,  and  the  writer  will  willingly  pay 
a  "\  "  each  for  a  half-dozen  legends  equal  to  "The  King 
King,"  "Panthea,"  "The  Miser's  Hand,"  or  "Saved  by 
a  Picture." 


CHAPTER  I. 


To  Win  in  Law ;  Hints ;  Examples ;  Little  Things ;  The 
Procession ;  Abuse  of  Witnesses. 

LAWYERS  WHO  SAID  THINGS. 

In  a  period  of  thirty  years  by  the  natural  range  of  law 
and  court  duty,  very  many  bright  lawyers,  and  some  not 
so  bright,  have  come  before  my  observation,  and  in  some 
cases   made   a   lasting   impression   by   a   single   act   or 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  3 

sentence.  Starting  with  C.  K.  Davis,  of  St.  Paul,  later 
a  United  States  Senator,  I  learned  his  emphatic  words: 
"Never  ask  on  cross  examination  what  you  can  prove 
without  such  a  doubtful  method."  Of  John  VanArman: 
"Give  a  jury  an  early,  earnest,  well  planned  theory  of 
your  case  while  their  minds  are  like  white  paper.".  Of 
John  K.  Porter:  "Stop  short  when  you  have  gained  the 
real  point  with  a  witness."  Of  Geo.  M.  Curtis:  "Open 
the  minds  of  a  jury  by  a  picture  that  they  must  admire" 
or,  a  sentence  like  "Creeping  like  a  serpent  in  the  blood — 
parting  anchor  from  his  reason." 

By  General  Harrison,  (later  President),  a  man  of 
marvelous  diction,  "I  have  in  my  office  an  old,  old  like- 
ness of  the  first  trial  by  jury.  It  is  not  in  a  court  room, 
but  out  in  an  orchard.  The  weeping  family  surround  the 
vdctim  in  the  coffin."  "There  are  no  lawyers  on  either 
side."     Then  he  built  the  scene  in  touching  sentences. 

And  Beach  in  the  Brinkly  case,  in  thrilling  tones,  as 
he  pictured  a  sacred  marriage,  and  such  a  picture !  Then 
Tom  Brown  in  his  stirring  sentence:  "Go  with  me  to 
yonder  Kirk  Yard  of  an  early  Sunday  morning.  *  *  * 
there  see  this  widow  and  her  five  little  children — made 
orphans  by  the  hand  of  Calvin  Hatfield,  and  there — there 
in  the  presence  of  the  living  and  the  dead,  there  write 
your  verdict ! 

You  might  prefer  to  hear  G.  V.  N.  Lothrop  say :  "And 
now,  in  the  light  of  all  this  evidence,  it  seems  as  if  the 
walls  of  that  bank  building  were  lifted  up,  and  there,  by 
the  clear  light  of  the  September  sun,  at  noonday,  there 
stands  Vanderpool  and  there  lies  Herbert  Fieldone  the 
victim,  the  other  a  murderer !  It  is  not  I.  It  is  not  you 
who  would  convict  him.  It  is  the  hard  facts,  and  circum- 
stances that  point  to  Vanderpool  as  the  murderer,  and 
point  to  nobody  else,  gentlemen!" 

It  was  touching  to  hear  McReynolds  say  it:     "Take 


4  LAWYERS    WHO    SAID    THINGS. 

these  little  orphan  children,  lead  them  to  comfort  or  leave 
them  in  want.  I  would  place  their  hands  in  your  hands 
and  ask  where  will  you  lead  them  ?" 

"A  home  in  ruins,  how  sad  and  desolate  a  picture" 
(said  Graham).  Sooner  or  later  all  homes  will  be  broken 
up.  Death  with  noiseless  tread  will  steal  in  without  the 
sound  of  footfall — seal  up  the  doors  of  breath,  put  out 
the  light  of  the  eyes  and  we  leave  them  till  the  judgment 
hereafter." 

Or  you  should  hear  VanDyke  say  it :  "Who  shall  stay 
this  wave  of  progress?  Who  shall  say  to  the  iron  horse, 
thus  far  shalt  thou  go  but  no  further !  Nay,  gentlemen, 
it  shall  not  be  stayed !  It  shall  speed  onward,  still  on- 
ward, crossing  the  prairies,  spanning  the  rivers,  climbing 
the  mountains,  startling  the  lone  Indian  from  his  wild 
career,  and  at  last  bathing  itself  in  the  far  away  Pacific." 
With  three  times  as  much,  and  growing  each  line  more 
beautiful,  I  think  he  was  fully  as  poetical,  as  logical  and 
convincing. 

But  you  have  noted  enough  already  to  see  that  cele- 
brated lawyers  had  a  reputation  built  of  things  said  and 
done  which  attracted  attention,  say  like  Seward  saying: 
"There  is  a  law  higher  than  the  Constitution":  like 
Phillip,  "Dipping  his  finger  in  the  sunlight":  like  Jack- 
son's, "By  the  Eternal" :  or  Dix,  "Shoot  him  on  the 
spot" :  or  Henry's  "Liberty  or  death"  sentences. 

So  that  while  accidents  may  happen  and  help  an  advo- 
cate quickly  up  to  fame,  he  must  be  able  to  meet  the 
opportunity  half  way  and  utilize  it  on  the  spot,  and  make 
the  most  of  it,  as  did  Ingersoll  and  Bryan. 

But  I  am  persuaded  that  what  young  men  most  need 
is  samples  and  examples  nearer  the  earth's  surface — near 
their  own  line  of  practice*  or  their  ability  to  use  as  guides, 
or  indexes  to  Start  in  Law — not  to  finish  or  contend  with 
statesmen,  which  will  come  much  later  in  their  career. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  5 

And  leaving-  out  all  the  flowers,  fringes  and  fancy 
periods,  using  only  the  known  elements  of  use  and  benefit, 
I  offer  a  clear  sample  of  a  fine  lawyer. 

In  the  short  and  successful  career  of  a  Business  Lawyer 
whom  I  knew  in  practice  and  for  ten  years  judicially, 
candor,  dignity,  forecaste  and"  integrity  were  the  central 
columns  of  the  late  Major  Conley's  success  as  a  lawyer. 
To  these  was  added  a  short,  thick  set  and  commanding 
presence  that  few  lawyers  possess.  In  the  robes  of  a 
Supreme  Justice  his  appearance  would  rank  well  on  the 
bench  of  the  highest  courts.  His  diction  was  as  clear 
and  convincing  as  his  voice  was  pleasing.  None  knew 
him  but  to  trust  his  wisdom  in  the  most  intricate  prob- 
lems of  law  and  business. 

It  took  all  of  his  well  rounded  qualities  to  form  the 
exalted  character  which  he  displayed  in  daily  life.  Others 
have  earned  larger  fees  and  tried  larger  cases,  but  few 
in  middle  life  can  show  a  saving  of  over  $100,000.00, 
earned  and  saved  from  law  business.  Others  have  filled 
higher  stations.  He  was  a  State  Senator  and  Police 
Superintendent;  but  more  than  either,  he  was  an  all 
around  lawyer — in  civil,  criminal  or  Supreme  Court  cases 
he  excelled  in  legal  attainments,  and  as  an  advocate.  His 
briefs  were  models  of  brevity ;  his  trial  work  was  art  in 
a  court  room. 

Not  by  inheritance — for  he  was  a  farm  boy;  not  by 
influence  of  relatives — he  rose  by  his  own  industry ; — not 
by  eloquence — his  logic  and  candor  were  more  convinc- 
ing than  eloquence  in  civil  practice.  It  was  his  single- 
ness of  purpose,  his  identity  with  his  clients'  interests, 
his  forecaste  of  results,  that  inspired  confidence  in  his 
counsel.  His  office  was  well  kept.  He  was  up  to  date, 
presented  a  good  appearance,  lived  uprightly  and  earned 
his  high  position. 


6  TO    START    IN    LAW. 

Well,  and  even  deeply,  read  in  English  literature; 
traveled  and  discreet  with  selection  of  friends,  his  clients 
were  of  a  class  to  afford  rich  fees  and  a  paying  practice. 
But  little  of  his  service  was  given  to  politics ;  a  single 
Senate  term :  but  little  criminal  law  practice — he  pre- 
ferred the  problems  of  business.  In  a  city  like  Xew 
York  he  would  have  ranked  with  Dillon.  Porter  and 
Shaffer.  In  Michigan  he  ranked  with  Lothrop,  Russell 
and  Hanchette. 

By  what  strange  steps  did  he  attain  his  leadership? 
By  the  beauty  of  method.  He  spoke  little  in  public,  yet 
was  ready  to  take  sides  in  public  functions.  He  saved 
much  of  his  earnings,  married  well,  attended  church, 
was  a  prominent  Mason,  drilled  with  the  Knights,  owned 
bank  stock,  took  fees  in  copper  stock,  lived  in  a  good 
neighborhood,  enjoyed  a  good  story,  but  remained  full 
of  dignity.  His  views  were  given  with  some  reluctance, 
never  free  or  undignified. 

He  did  not  round  out  the  full  measure  of  his  days,  and 
died  of  Bright's  disease,  a  little  over  fifty;  yet  when  he 
last  walked  from  the  court  room,  in  apparent  vigor,  he 
left  it  like  a  Napoleon,  after  a  victory.  When  he  came 
in  with  an  order,  a  motion  or  a  decree,  no  judge  need  to 
read  it,  the  integrity  of  Major  Conely  was  a  guarantee 
of  its  correctness. 

TO  START  IN  LAW. 

To  start  in  law,  one  should  be  equipped  for  its  duties; 
good  health,  natural  aptness,  a  ready  mind  in  a  healthy 
body,  an  alert  mental  make-up,  a  persistence  in  methods 
of  holding  on,  a  stick-to-itiveness,  with  some  grace  of 
manner  and  force  in  argument.  In  a  word,  a  natural 
fitness,  and  ability  to  contend  in  debate  with  ingenious 
and  able  advocates. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  7 

A  vigorous  body  is  needed  to  stand  the  strain  of  a  long 
life  battle  in  bad  air,  with  questions  as  perplexing  as  they 
are  usually  lasting.  The  mental  competition  is  so  elo- 
quently and  accurately  defined  by  a  once-leading  advo- 
cate that  it  is  quoted  verbatim  from  the  66th  Michigan 
Report,  as  a  true  likeness  of  the  elements  of  a  good 
lawyer,  as  found  in  May's  address  on  Charles  Stuart. 

"It  takes  great  intellectual  gifts  to  make  a  great  advo- 
cate." No  man  wins  a  height  at  the  bar,  without  a 
struggle  and  without  'intellectual  power.  Not  like  the 
clergyman  with  his  ex-parte  case  behind  the  pulpit ;  and 
not  like  the  physician  with  his  prescription  in  the  dark, 
the  lawyer's  work  is  done  in  a  broad  light  of  open  day, 
confronted  at  every  step  by  able  opposition  and  argu- 
ment, with  the  entire  public  looking  on  To  meet  such 
test,  requires  the  greatest  and  keenest  powers.  That 
vulgar  notion  of  advocacy  that  sees  nothing  in  it  higher 
than  an  effort  to  "befog  the  jury,"  is  a  great  mistake. 
Rather  is  it  often  the  business  of  the  true  advocate  to 
clear  and  dispel  by  the  electric  heat  and  lightening  of  his 
genius,  the  fog-bank  that  has  already  settled  there. 

"The  court-house  should  still  be  an  intellectual  arena 
where  the  gladiators  of  the  law  meet,  and  contend  for 
the  prizes  of  victory  and  justice.  In  the  brilliant  picture 
which  Macaulay  draws  of  ancient  Athens  in  the  hight  of 
her  glory,  it  was  the  contest  of  the  intellectual  athletes 
which  evoked  the  loudest  shouts  from  that  cultivated  and 
wonderful  people. 

Small  credit  to  us  in  our  boasted  intellectual  advance- 
ment, if  it  be  true,  that  after  nearly  twenty-five  hundred 
years,  our  people  flock  to  the  race,  the  minstrel  show  and 
the  ball  ground. 

We  still  need  our  advocates,  our  orators  and  statesmen ; 
we  need  them  for  the  just  administration  of  the  law,  for 
our  intelectual  life,  for  the  glory  of  arts  and  of  letters, 


8  THE     PROCESSION. 

and  over  and  beyond  all  these,  for  the  preservation  of 
liberty,  and  our  free  institutions." 


THE  PROCESSION. 

When  mails  are  delivered  at  one  window,  or  tickets  are 
sold  for  the  baseball  games,  the  high  and  low,  rich  and 
poor,  gain  admittance  in  the  order  of  their  reaching  the 
ticket-seller.  So  with  the  young  lawyer,  in  practice.  He 
can  fall  in  line — join  the  procession — ahd  the  file  leaders 
will  soon  give  way  to  Time's  harvester  and  make  room 
for  the  next  to  fill  the  vacancy  created. 

This  is  the  young  lawyer's  hope  and  his  reasonable 
ambition.  Like  the  words  of  Alexander  at  the  games, 
only  those  who  enter  and  run  can  win  the  prizes,  and 
none  are  given  to  those  who  look  on  from  the  outer  side. 
Still,  by  becoming  familiar  with  debates  and  public  ad- 
dresses, those  who  can  stand  alone  and  ride  without  fall- 
ing will  be  called  into  action. 

There  is  no  other  way  but  in  practice.  A  wealthy 
stove-maker  lately  placed  his  only  son  in  charge  of  the 
most  important  branch  of  the  works,  but  not  until  he  had 
served  a  full  apprenticeship  in  every  department  of  stovc- 
building,  as  moulder,  fittter  and  finisher,  to  learn  the  in- 
side workings  of  each  department. 

A  wealthy  young  lawyer  having  two  notes  to  put  in 
judgment  showed  his  written  declaration  to  an  up-to-date 
counsel,  who  promptly  discarded  the  paper  and  advised 
oral  pleadings,  and  to  make  things  still  plainer  walked 
to  the  Justice  Court  and  aided  in  placing  the  notes  in 
evidence  in  due  form  under  oral  pleadings,  much  to  the 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  O, 

surprise  of  the  other  at  the  ease  of  the  simple  proceeding ; 
•so  easy,  in  fact,  that  the  rich  counsel  said:  "Well,  from 
this  on  I  will  hire  a  man  to  start  me  in,  and  I'll  do  the 
argument." 

Every  trial  lawyer  can  realize  at  once  that  such  a  plan 
is  fatal  to  the  success  of  a  good  advocate.  He  must 
often  discuss  points  of  practice.  The  very  thing  which 
he  ignores  and  leaves  to  another  will  be  the  rock  he  will 
run  upon  when  least  expected.  Such  things  are  not 
safely  left  to  another.  A  law  suit  has  plan  and  con- 
tinuity, and  requires  a  preparedness  of  the  one  who 
handles  any  part  of  the  contest.  Lean  on  no  one  for 
•essentials.  Like  the  Lincoln  rule  of  success:  "If  you 
ever  amount  to  anything,  you  must  do  it  yourself;  think 
for  yourself;  be  independent." 

LAWYERS'  ABUSE  OF  WITNESSES. 

The  Court  Room  should  be  a  place  where  none  would 
fear  to  enter ;  but  the  intensity  of  practice  has  led  a  host 
•of  lawyers  to  the  verge  of  abuse  to  so  many,  that  timid 
women  and  braver  men  will  suffer  a  wrong  rather  than  be 
subject  to  the  cross  fire  of  an  enemy's  advocate.  And 
the  question  is  pertinent — Is  such  conduct  just  on  the 
part  of  counsel?  Is  it  up  to  a  high  standard  of  ethics? 
Let  us  consider. 

Force,  fluency,  directness,  with  luminous  reasons,  are 
the  features  of  a  modern  lawyer's  manner.  To  these  he 
adds  forecast,  the  greatest  gift  of  an  advocate,  not  even 
•excepting  eloquence. 

It  is  a  common  practice  to  overdo  the  answer  back,  or 
cross-fire  dialogue  of  counsel  in  trials  by  jury.  Lawyers 
attach  so  much  value  to  repartee  that  they  would  rather 
lose  a  case  than  lose  the  last  say  with  a  witness.     Such 


10  LAWYERS     ABUSE    OF    WITNESSES. 

wit  or  personal  abuse,  as  the  case  may  be,  is  costly  to  a 
client  if  his  case  is  lost  by  it. 

A  very  large  proportion  of  verdicts  are  lost  by  cross- 
examiners  in  forcing  witnesses  to  emphasize  their  denials 
of  facts,  or  answers  to  important  questions ;  as  advocates 
usually  get  what  they  bargain  for,  if  they  start  to  be 
abusive.  A  small  minority  even  complain  of  the  trial 
Court  in  the  briefs  on  appeal,  and  seldom  escape  the  ire 
of  the  Supreme  Bench,  with  a  fine  fully  equal  to  one  days 
pay  for  services,  a  brief  stricken  from  the  record,  and 
plenty  of  deep  humiliation  as  a  reward  for  their  evil 
doing.  How  any  advocate  can  ever  hope  to  advance  by 
attempting  to  overrule  a  trial  court,  on  other  than  legal 
grounds,  is  a  problem.  Surely  counsel  who  argue  long 
after  an  adverse  ruling,  and  attempt  to  alter  it,  in  sight 
of  a  jury — only  to  be  defeated  in  each  attempt — is  making 
slow  progress.  As  nothing  goes  farther  with  a  jury, 
than  the  charge  of  the  Court,  it  is  idle  to  incur  one  un- 
kind word  or  sentence,  by  a  slur  or  sneer  at  what  is  ruled 
upon  and  fixed  by  the  ruling.  "That  man  is  a  fool,"  said 
Judge  Maynard,  "who  disagrees  with  the  trial  Judge 
openly."  He  might  be  able  to  convince  the  Judge  by  an 
apt  citation,  but  would  always  fail  if  a  harsher  method 
was  employed. 

It  is  as  annoying  to  see  a  peppery  lawyer  cross-firing 
with  a  Court,  as  to  see  a  bad  acting  racer  at  the  starting 
point.  We  lose  some  patience,  much  progress,  and  a 
little  temper  in  either  instance.  And  he  is  a  wise  counsel 
who  works  in  harmony  and  without  friction.  And  up  to 
this  point  of  difference,  candor,  caution  and  forecast  are 
the  cardinal  virtues  of  an  advocate.  The  standing  in  this 
city  of  a  strong  advocate  is  a  coin  of  rare  value.  To  be 
believed,  listened  to  and  persuaded  by  ones  fellows,  is  to 
be  a  Prince  among  his  fellows.  To  be  successful  he 
should  earn  it,  like  a  marksman,  a  range  finder,  a  brave 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  II 

fireman,  a  fetching  speaker,  a  clear  reasoner,  a  wise 
counsel,  but  over  and  above  and  beyond  all,  to  be  a  man 
of  stable  character. 

Few  men  are  so  fully  known  and  accurately  measured, 
as  are  advocates.  In  a  Court  Room  ability  is  soon  sifted. 
The  test  is  easily  applied,  as  in  detecting  genuine  from 
spurious  money,  the  pure  water  from  the  off  color  dia- 
monds. Counsel  cannot  be  too  wise,  too  clear,  too  tactful, 
or  too  eloquent ;  nor  are  they  ever  too  well  prepared  in 
their  case.  To  win  is  not  enough — to  win  is  victory, 
to  win  fairly  is  to  earn  an  honest  fame.  Take  a  few 
known  cases:  In  the  Parnell  case,  Piggott  was  detected 
of  forging  a  letter  by  a  skillful  cross-examination,  but 
there  was  no  mark  of  insult  to  the  witness.  It  was  the 
art  of  counsel.  The  two  hundred  and  odd  answers  made 
"I  don't  remember"  made  by  Mr.  Beecher,  produced 
neither  anger  nor  effect  in  his  lengthy  contest  with  Fuller- 
ton.  It  ended  in  a  draw  and  resulted  in  a  disagreement. 
In  two  recent  instances  in  Michigan,  one  question  in 
effect  charged  the  witness  with  falsifying,  without  a  re- 
buke from  the  Judge  (who  never  heard  it),  but  it  de- 
stroyed the  verdict,  and  killed  the  cause  of  action.  An- 
other case,  counsel  barely  said,  "We  want  no  small 
verdict,  we've  got  to  follow  it  on  appeal.  Of  course  they 
will  appeal  it,  they  always  appeal ;  which  reversed  the 
case,  and  shows  the  trend  of  decisions  to  be  against 
harshness  of  counsel. 

But  the  climax  of  cases  reversed  by  conduct  of  counsel 
is  the  examination  of  Russell  Sage,  in  a  suit  for  pushing 
a  servant  between  himself  and  a  man  with  dynamite. 
The  X.  Y.  Court  of  Appeals,  has  recently  reversed  the 
case,  for  asking  Mr.  Sage  what  companies  he  held  stock 
in ;  what  interest  he  charged  clients,  and  what  statements 
he  made  to  reporters  of  being  willing  to  spend  large  sums 
of  money  in  law  to  defeat  the  action.     Taking  the  de- 


12  IF    AND    IT    IN    LAW. 

cisions  together,  and  the  large  number  of  reversals  on 
savage  remarks  of  counsel,  either  to  the  jury,  or  fines  in 
the  Supreme  Court  on  briefs,  the  trend  of  our  higher 
Courts  clearly  points  in  the  direction  of  reform  in  the 
much  abused  license  that  counsel  have  exercised  in  the 
treatment  of  witnesses,  and  we  may  yet  see  the  day  when 
politeness  and  a  larger  power  to  please  shall  replace  one 
of  the  glaring  evils  of  American  Court  practice. 

JF  AND  IT  IX  LAW. 

"If  some  one  would  only  bring  me  a  good  case — one 
that  would  lead  to  fees  and  business,  he  would  be  of 
greater  help  than  a  fine  purse  of  money  or  a  residence. 
I  am  so  anxious  to  show  my  people  that  they  have  not 
wasted  all  the  money  that  my  college  course  cost  them, 
that  the  anxiety  makes  me  nervous." 

This  was  spoken  by  a  tall,  fine  looking  fellow,  who 
would  attract  attention  personally,  but  has  never  been 
known  as  a  lawyer,  even  though  admitted  to  the  Bar  by 
a  college  law  course. 

But  If  and  It  in  Law. 
are   things  not  bought   with   money,   not  purchased   by 
parents,  not  even  furnished  by  a  college  course,  however 
costly. 

The  young  man  in  question — for  he  is  not  a  lawyer  by 
virtue  of  his  sheekskin — takes  the  //  and  It  which  are  the 
real  problems  to  work  out,  with  fear  and  trembling,  with 
struggle  and  anxiety,  with  errors  and  successes — if  he 
knows  how  to  avoid  too  many  of  the  first  and  to  win  a 
fair  portion  of  the  last  named  rewards. 

A  class  rises  up  before  me  of  several  scores  of  young 
graduates,  who  are  alike  anxious  and  ambitious,  who 
long  for  the  first  step,  the  IT,  that  is  to  start  them.  There 
they  are,  their  bright  eyes  glistening,  their  fond  hopes 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  1 3 

brightening,  their  high  ambition  rising,  as  they  bow  low 
in  their  ready  welcome  to  the  coveted  diploma  from  the 
hands  of  the  dean  of  their  law  College. 

And  why  is  it  that  in  law,  as  in  engineering,  chemistry 
and  bookkeeping,  a  teacher  is  unable  to  deliver  a  posi- 
tion with  a  diploma?  Why  are  not  men  standing  by  and 
waiting  for  the  exit  of  law  students,  like  other  students, 
to  place  them  in  a  direct  line  of  promotion?  Such  may 
be  the  case  in  a  few  rare  instances,  where  a  wealthy  and 
distinguished  father,  like  Choate  or  Root  or  Whitney, 
has  such  gifts  to  deliver  to  their  offspring.  Such  in- 
stances arc  rare. 

But  none  of  these  were  in  the  class  I  had  in  mind  in 
the  example  before  us.  It  was  a  class  from  the  Uni- 
versity. Fifteen  of  the  number  found  places  on  the  Santa 
Fe  Railway;  a  couple  more  on  the  Michigan  Central;  a 
half  dozen  found  office  places ;  two  firms  were  formed 
and  lasted  a  year  or  so ;  quite  a  number  went  into  corpora- 
tions and  became  about  as  well  known  in  the  IT  part  of 
law  as  the  general  bookkeepers,  and  less  known  than  the 
typewriters  of  the  big  concerns — and  so  far  the  corpora- 
tion lawyers  have  not  found  recognition,  although  they 
have  richly  earned  it,  many  times  over — it  being  an  un- 
written law  that  large  corporations  give  out  honors  with 
great  reluctance. 

But  the  class  had  some  notable  exceptions.  One  is 
settled  in  Oklahoma,  with  a  good  practice  and  is  counsel 
for  two  big  corporations,  on  a  yearly  salary.  One  became 
a  Circuit  Judge  in  Minnesota  and  resigned  to  accept 
three  times  the  salary  as  president  of  a  stock  company. 
One  talked  Free  Silver,  until  its  popularity  waned  and 
then  took  the  millionaire  side  of  the  argument  and  its 
perquisites.  One  is  a  fourth  term  member  of  Congress 
and  one  a  single  term  ex-member.    Two  joined  forces  as 


14  IF    AND    IT   IN    LAW. 

partners,  succeeded  and  later  lost  their  grip  and  became 
grouchy. 

To  repeat  a  bit  of  the  story  already  told  of  these  run- 
ners in  the  race  of  fame  and  seekers  after  fame  and 
fortune.  If  the  corporation  lawyers  had  stood  alone,  or 
started  in  a  small  city,  they  would  have  stood  many  more 
chances  of  winning  early  recognition,  than  by  going  into 
a  concern  with  a  large  supply  of  legal  talent,  quite  in  ad- 
vance of  their  line  of  promotion. 

The  Circuit  Judge's  advance  was  quite  natural,  both 
from  his  acquaintance  and  extra  law  course  that  his  posi- 
tion in  Court  furnished,  so  that  the  IT  of  his  career 
made  promotion  quite  natural.  He  had,  withal,  a  marvel- 
ous power  to  please  in  his  make-up,  and  displayed  it 
easily  through  his  happy  addresses  in  State  and  County 
Conventions. 

The  talking  proclivity  helped  the  Free  Silver  graduate 
to  his  high  position — his  fund  of  stories  and  happy  illus- 
trations seemed  unlimited.  Indeed,  I  am  convinced,  it 
was  the  ladder  on  which  he  reached  his  fame,  as  did 
Bailey,  Curtis,  Beverage  and  Burke  Cochrane,  and 
Foraker,  reach  theirs  by  similar  means. 

As  to  the  men  serving  more  than  one  term  in  Congress, 
they  are  switched  on  a  side-track  from  their  life  work, 
forgotten  as  lawyers,  known  only  as  speakers  and  serv- 
ants— to  distribute  seeds  for  farmer  constituents! 

The  worst  is  to  come,  for  the  firm  that  succeeded  a 
spell  and  became  grouchy  deserves  some  attention.  In 
court  they  growled  at  an  adverse  ruling ;  noted  an  excep- 
tion in  tones  of  anger;  objected  to  almost  everything; 
kept  their  clients  and  listeners  in  bad  temper — won  rarely 
— lost  ofen — over-charged,  complained,  became  unpopu- 
lar, played  the  poor  part  of  critics,  distrustful  of  jurors, 
out  of  harmony  with  court  rulings,  sour  and  crabbed, 
until  their  business  took  on  about  the  same  shade  and 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  1 5 

meaning.     They  are  what  they  have  made  themselves. 
They  lack  the  IT  which  makes  men  prosper. 

THE  LAWYER'S  FRIEND  IS  THE  TRIAL  JUDGE. 

Why  should  a  young  lawyer  dread  going  to  court  any 
more  than  to  ride  a  wheel.  It  is  his  bread  and  butter, 
his  standing,  his  income,  his  character — to  be  alert, 
ready,  and  familiar  with  court  work.  Let  him  learn  it 
by  experience.  It  is  the  only  true  road  to  practice.  Sup- 
pose it  is  a  little  trying  to  be  in  court  with  a  minor  for 
a  party,  he  can  withdraw  a  juror  and  soon  secure  a 
guardian's  appointment.  The  judge  will  never  interpose 
an  extra  hardship.  Suppose  his  papers  are  not  perfect, 
even  older  lawyers  are  tripped  on  their  pleadings. 
Young  men,  like  young  scholars,  are  prone  to  be  too 
timid.  If  they  confide  in  the  judge  and  show  their  apt- 
ness they  are  not  turned  away  empty-handed. 

True,  clients  will  blame  a  judge  or  jury  for  an  adverse 
•decision,  but  clients  are  full  of  deceptions.  They  have  a 
lot  of  pent-up  anger  in  reserve.  Lawyers  need  not 
employ  anger  as  a  weapon.  It  rarely  wins  a  verd'.c:. 
It  never  wins  a  lasting  victory.  Be  just  as  earnest,  just 
as  forceful,  just  as  clear  as  the  law  allows,  but  leave 
anger  •  where  Solomon  did — to  rest  in  the  bosoms  of 
fools. 

What  is  the  judge  for  but  to  do  justice?  He  has  no 
favorites  save  to  favor  the  right  of  the  matter  in  con- 
test. Show  him  that  right,  and  you  have  a  ready  listener. 
You  need  not  attempt  to  drive  him,  or  to  force  a  con- 
clusion. Show  it  by  facts,  prove  it  by  evidence,  cite  it 
from  like  cases  that  seem  to  rule  with  your  position. 


l6  WHO   GETS    THE    CHILD  ? 

CHAPTER  II. 

Cases  ;  Rules  ;  Samples ;  How  Won ;  Methods  ;  Events ; 
Luxury  ;  Self-Defense  ;  The  Best  Cross-Examination  ; 
Lincoln's    Law    Work ;    Bide   Your   Time. 

WHO   GETS  THE  CHILD ? 

A  very  delicate  and  important  duty  is  to  find  the  legal 
custody  of  children.  Two  leading  cases  are  given  that 
bear  on  the  question.  It  was  held  in  the  71st  Michigan, 
in  the  Stockman  case : 

"The  single  question  and  consideration  is  whether  the 
paternal  or  maternal  grandparents  shall  have  the  care 
and  custody  of  the  child.  The  Court  takes  as  the  first 
consideration  that  the  child  is  a  girl;  as  a  second  con- 
sideration, that  the  child  likes  the  maternal  grandparents, 
and  is  contented  and  happy  with  them.  The  Court  says 
that  the  claim  of  the  counsel  for  the  maternal  grand- 
parents that  the  law  is  inexorable  cannot  be  agreed  with 
by  the  Court.  'Courts  have  a  general  superinntending 
power  over  all  infants,  and  the  primary  guardianship  of 
the  parent  over  his  child  lasts  no  longer  than  he  is  found 
to  be  competent,  and  discharges  his  duty  which  nature 
has  laid  upon  him,  properly ;  and  when  he  fails  to  do  this, 
the  proper  Court  may  interfere  and  charge  another  with 
the  discharge  of  this  duty.  The  good  of  society  and 
the  welfare  of  the  State  require  this,  and  can  never  re- 
quire less.  Primarily  the  Court  is  the  guardian  of  all 
orphan  children,  and  will  give  the  proper  directions  as 
to  their  care  and  support  until  such  time  as  a  guardian 
shall  be  appointed,  and  it  is  then  its  duty  to  see  to  it 
that  the  duties  of  the  trust  are  properly  discharged.' 

The  Court  then  says  that  "Courts  will  only  recognize 
the  authority  and  control  of  guardians  over  wards  so 


ART     OK    ADVOCATES.  \J 

long  as  it  is  right  and  proper  and  for  the  best  interests 
of  the  wards.  So  that  relatives  are  usually  preferred 
and  selected,  but  that  the  question  always  is  what  will 
be  for  the  best  interest  of  the  ward  under  all  circum- 
stances. This,  the  Court  says,  should  control  every- 
thing else. 

"The  Court  even  says  in  this  case  that  comity  can  be 
considered  'when  the  future  welfare  of  the  child  is  the 
vital  question ;  the  good  of  the  child  is  above  all  othei 
considerations ;  it  is  the  polar  star  to  guide  to  the  con- 
clusion in  all  cases  of  infants,  whether  the  question  is 
raised  on  a  Habeas  Corpus  or  in  a  Court  of  Chancery/ 
Later  on  the  Court  says  that  the  infant's  desire  is  always 
listened   to   with   interest." 

THE  FIT  IS   "IT"  IN  LAW. 

A  case  to  fit,  the  facts  to  fit,  the  proof  to  fit,  the  man 
to  fit  the  case,  even  the  jury  to  fit,  all  these  must  tell. 

A  case  in  point  was  heard  between  two  bright  lawyers, 
a  jury  to  match.  The  case  was  so  clearly  made  as  to 
stand  like  a  note  and  prove  itself.  The  debt  was  $2,700, 
the  payment  $1,350;  the  plaintiff  assumed  a  zvalk  away 
and  rested. 

The  defendant  made  no  denial  of  the  main  facts ;  but 
said  he  paid  all  he  agreed  to.  Then  came  the  recess — 
then  the  cross-examination — 

"  You  say  you  paid  all  you  promised  ? 
"  Yes. 
"  How  so  ? 

"  Well,  we  had  a  dispute  over  a  $300  diamond  left 
on  approval  that  I  had  not  returned,  and  over  three 
other  invoices,  from  $450  to  $475,  and  they  had  me 
on  a  capias  and  away  from  home ;  my  wife  was  insane 
and  had   been  some  years — that  made   my   expenses 


l8  THE    FIT    IS    "IT"    IN    LAW. 

double — and  I  wanted  to  get  out  of  it,  so  I  got  my 

uncle  to  advance  what  they  said  they'd  take  and  let 

me  clear  of  the  whole  dispute." 

The  last  word  was  the  It.  Xo  amount  of  quissing  ;  no 
amount  of  argument;  no  amount  of  bulldozing,  cot. id 
turn  the  witness.  Lawyers  all  know  that  without  a  dis- 
pute it  would  be  a  law  question  and  the  $1,350  would  be 
but  a  partial  payment.  With  it  a  jury  must  pass  upon 
the  whole  matter.  Here  was  a  man  behind  on  his  ac- 
count, who  had  trusted  out  and  left  on  approval  and  used 
up  money  and  gone  behind  and  settled ! — a  disputed  claim 
by  a  cash  compromise. 

Of  course  IT  won. 

Another  instance  was  of  a  disputed  diamond  left  in 
pawn,  claimed  as  stolen  and  recovered  as  such,  on  one 
sentence  of  the  detective  who  found  it  in  the  pawnshop, 
brought  in  the  true  owner,  who  offered  $50 — of  the  $75 
lent  on  it  and  "  when  I  left  them,"  said  the  detective,  "  I 
felt  sure  they  would  come  together,  for  they  had  reached 
within  $25  of  it  and  both  seemed  to  agree  it  was  Marks' 
diamond  and  pawned  by  somebody." 

The  dispute  was  on  identity.  The  prongs  of  the  setting 
and  appearance  was  all  the  owner  could  claim  as  identity. 
It  was  only  a  little,  but  it  helped  his  attorney,  who  used 
the  Solomon  instance  in  2nd  Kings — where  two  women 
each  claimed  the  live  child.  Solomon  was  a  young  king 
and  heard  their  story,  saying,  in  effect — "  Bring  in  the 
living  and  the  dead  child,  and  bring  in  a  sword.  Now 
divide  the  child  in  equal  parts  and  give  to  each  one  half. 
Whereat  the  real  mother  exclaimed,  "Spare  O  King, 
Spare  the  Child ;  Let  not  harm  come  to  the  Child." 

And  Solomon  said,  "give  her  the  child;  she  is  the 
mother  of  the  Child." 

As  diamonds  cannot  be  divided,  the  plaintiff  took 
verdict  for  the  "  Child" ! 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  IO, 

I  think  more  cases  are  turned  on  some  such  little  points 
than  counsel  can  realize.  But  two  more  cases  may  be 
more  convincing  than  a  mere  statement: 

Dick  allowed  his  insurance  to  run  by.  It  was  paid  by 
his  son.  and  as  death  followed  in  60  hours,  was  contested 
by  a  bill  to  set  aside,  which  failed.  When  it  was  paid 
the  doctor  said — He  is  in  his  usual  health — has  some  in- 
digestion which  has  bothered  him  for  years,  and  so  he 
had ! 

The  two  doctors  admitted  that  Typheitus  might  de- 
velope  suddenly,  or  even  heart  trouble, — to  a  fleshy  man 
of  56  might  suddenly  take  him  off.  .But  only  a  post- 
mortem could  tell  what  caused  his  death..  This  had  been 
omitted  and  the  wife  won. 

On  what  a  slender  thread  does  life  insurance  hang! 

Maier  also  had  carried  $20,000.00  insurance  22  years, 
and  late  in  life  drank  hard — defense  to  his  policy  was, 
"  caused  by  drink,"  contrary  to  policy. 

But  counsel  found  in  question  "  16  "  of  the  application 
the  words :  To  what  extent  is  applicant  in  the  habit  of 
using  beer,  wine,  brandy,  whiskey  or  other  alcoholic 
beverages?  To  which  was  answered,  "moderately." 
This  word  was  the  IT  on  which  turned  $20,000  to  Mrs. 
Maier. 

Another  case  of  a  man  dress-maker: 

He  had  shipped  five  large  sample  trunks,  checked  as 
baggage  with  self  and  three  of  his  help  to  St.  Louis. 
The  trunks  had  Paris  hats  and  suits  of  fine  goods.  One 
trunk  was  broken  and  near  $500  worth  abstracted  on 
the  road,  and  suit  was  brought  for  damages. 

The  case  was  given  to  the  jury  on  the  narrow  issue: 
Must  the  Company  have  known  contents  and  assumed 
risk,  after  having  for  five  years  carried  the  same  man 
and  his  samples  to  St.  Louis  and  known  him  as  a  ladies' 
tailor? 


20  LAW    LIFE   EVENTS. 

Jury  said  yes.  So  did  Supreme  Court,  in  each  and 
every  case  cited  in  this  chapter,  and  about  one  word 
turned  each  case  to  the  winning  side. 

One  reason  cleared  Hull  from  a  charge  of  murder. 
He  had  been  angered  and  taunted  into  frenzy  by  one 
taller  whom  he  shot.  The  rule  was  (38  Mich.)  that 
"  he  must  be  judged  by  the  circumstances  as  they  ap- 
peared to  him  at  the  time,"  not  as  they  would  be  to  a 
cooler  person. 

LAW  LIFE.  EVENTS. 

The  struggle  of  admission  to  the  bar  is  an  event  long 
remembered  by  a  student,  and  doubly  so  if  he  starts  with 
eleven  quarters,  pays  them  all  out  for  advance  tuition, 
does  chores  for  his  board  and  room  rent,  has  his  literary 
college  course  cut  short  by  a  fire  half  way  destroying  the 
college ;  and  later  has  his  law  course  lessened  by  a 
combine  of  his  law  school  with  a  larger  one,  in  a  larger 
city.  But  such  are  the  struggles  of  a  hopeful  student 
that  they  fan  his  ambition  rather  than  dampen  his  ardor 
in  his  slow  march  of  progress. 

It  took  a  couple  of  years  in  the  law  school  and  a  year 
more  in  office — all  uphill  work  and  busy  evenings,  in 
which  only  Sundays  could  be  given  to  newspapers,  be- 
fore admission  in  the  Supreme  Court  to  practice,  and 
then  the  battle  was  but  half  started.  It  took  three  or 
more  weeks  of  waiting  before  a  wire  called  the  boy 
lawyer,  saying :  "  Come  first  train,  important  case  " ! 
And  it  was  important. 

Walking  the  floor  in  deep  anxiety  all  the  afternoon, 
for  the  first  train  was  the  evening  sleeper,  to  determine 
that  law  books  need  not  be  taken  from  home  on  such 
errands  of  business,  "  What  is  the  case  Mr.  Carr  that 
you  wired  about?" 


ART     OF    ADVOCATES.  21 

"  Why,  a  man  killed  his  wife,"  was  the  answer. 

"  Then  I  am  not  able  to  help  you  said  the  lawyer — 
that  is  the  part  of  the  prosecuting  attorney!" 

"  No,  not  exactly,"  said  Carr,  "  the  man  killed  his  wife 
to  get  the  joint  life  insurance  he  had  taken  of  me,  and  I 
was  foolish  enough  to  deliver  the  $7,000  policy  and  take 
his  note  for  the  premium — and  the  note  is  worthless." 

Instantly  the  lawyer  was  on  his  mettle,  saying: 

"  (  ).  we  can  fix  that  readily,  where  is  he"? 

"  There  he  comes,"  said  the  other. 

The  lawyer  and  the  insured  met  midway  on  the  cross- 
ing. A  time  was  fixed  at  2  P.  M.  to  prove  the  claim  be- 
fore Justice  Thomas,  and  the  interim  well  spent  in  a 
close  survey  of  the  scene  of  the  drowning — They  had 
rowed  up  stream,  floated  down  and  the  boat  capsized,  as 
the  insured  explained  it. 

Evidence  was  clear  that  a  strong  young  man  like 
Waterman,  who  could  swim  and  dive  readily,  had  no 
need  to  surrender  and  let  his  wife  drown,  even  if  his 
story  was  a  real  one.  That  his  failure  to  arouse  the 
neighbors,  his  sleeping  till  late  next  morning — his  actions 
that  called  out  these  words  from  the  lawyer :  "  I  couldn't 
do  that  way  by  a  horse  or  a  dog  or  any  dumb  brute  that 
would  fall  in  the  water  " — which  words  the  crowd  in  the 
court  room  applauded,  for  they  were  apt  and  popular. 

The  evidence  completed  and  signed,  the  lawyer  took 
it.  paid  the  magistrate  and  started  for  the  street,  when 
the  insured  asked:  "When  will  I  get  the  insurance?" 
"  Never,"  said  the  lawyer,  "  You  killed  her  and  you 
know   it." 

It  was  a  knockout  blow  to  Wraterman.  He  fled  the 
state  and  country  and  never  was  heard  of  after.  The 
body  was  found  9  days  later,  with  marks  of  a  violent 
death  struggle.  *  *  *  The  lawyer  was  called  to 
New   York  and  questioned  in  the  presence  of  the  in- 


22  MISSING    THE    TARGET. 

surance  company's  directors,  was  employed  a  year  on  a 
splendid  salary  to  buy  in  its  agencies,  as  they  had  rein- 
sured and  were  about  winding  up  business. 

Well,  if  a  hole  in  the  sky  had  opened  to  let  down  a 
shower  of  gold  it  could  not  have  been  more  a  surprise, 
or  more  of  a  blessing. — For  greater  clearness  the  trial 
in  full  is  given  later  on  by  request. 

MISSING  THE  TARGET. 

I  have  observed  a  habit  of  many  lawyers  in  their 
anxiety  to  win,  to  aim  at  too  many  targets.  While  a 
speaker  may  sprinkle  his  illustrations  profusely  to  at- 
tract, inform  and  impress  his  hearers,  a  jury  will  be  con- 
fused by  too  many  words  and  too  many  issues.  They 
will  be  unable  to  carry  so  much  and  draw  a  correct  con- 
clusion. It  is  wiser  to  consider  with  Confucius,  the 
cleaVest  of  ancient  teachers,  that, 

The  archer  who  misses  the  target  turns  to  himself 
and  not  to  another  for  the  cause  of  his  failure — and 
so  should  we. 
Which  is  a  great  truth  in  a  small  compass. 

Six  to  a  dozen  requests  to  charge  are  enough,  and  the 
dozen  does  more  harm  than  good  in  most  cases.  In  the 
brevity  of  reason  and  argument  is  a  place  to  find  the  IT 
of  law  practice.  Of  course,  this  is  not  planned  for  Su- 
preme Court  briefs,  where  a  score  of  cases  may  convince 
when  five  might  be  doubtful.  But  you  remember  the 
Solon  case  overturned  twenty  states  on  local  aid  taxes 
for  railroads  and  made  Cooley's  rank  with  that  of  Waite, 
Webster  and  Marshall ;  for  in  that  decision  Judge  Cooley 
found  the  IT  of  taxation,  namely :  It  must  be  for  general 
benefits,  and  not  for  special  favorites.  It  must  be  of 
that  wide  rangfe  of  use  which  extends  to  all  who  share 


ART     OF    ADVOCATES.  23 

in  its  burdens,  or  still  plainer:  Why  should  one  pay 
another's  taxes,  or  pay  to  build  another's  business? 

Large  and  important  questions  are  not  often  turning 
points  of  issues.  It  is  the  inside  issue  that  turns  the  suit 
and  wins  the  battle.  Grant  observed  that  the  General 
who  held  out  to  the  end,  and  just  as  the  victory  seemed 
against  him,  pressed  hard  with  persistence,  was  the 
one  who  picked  the  real  fruits  of  victory. — Wellington 
did  so  with  Napoleon.     Alexander  did  so  at  Tyre. 

The  IT  in  Fees. 

I  think  no  rule  for  fee  getting  is  equal  to — make  a 
bargain  about  it  early — Suits  drag  out  so  long,  require 
so  many  trials,  so  many  motions,  so  much  law  and  evi- 
dence, that  a  good  contract  for  retainer,  expenses  and  a 
sum  in  proportion  to  the  result  gained  is  a  wise  precau- 
tion. The  suitors  mind  is  tractable  at  the  time  and  will 
never  be  more  so.  Be  wise  for  yourself  in  good  season. 
It  will  give  you  heart  in  the  work  to  have  an  objert  worth 
winning. 

I  will  assume  that  Dill  may  have  gently  hinted  to  Frick 
and  Carnegie  that  a  settlement  of  many  millions  might 
earn  one  million  ;  that  the  end  attained  was  not  trifling. 
Possibly  he  took  it  in  stock,  in  any  event  it  was  a  record 
breaker  by  a  trained  expert,  as  was  also  the  fees  of  Gen- 
eral Harrison,  Judge  Curtis  and  Col.  Ingersoll.  Great 
victories  deserve  rich  rewards  and  this  leads  to  the  apt 
•question, 

HOW  DID  THEY  DO  IT? 

Precisely  by  the  same  clear  methods  that  trained  ath- 
letes win  boxing  matches,  football  games  or  wrestling 
bouts — by  fitness  and  preparedness.  It  is  very  rare  when 
races  or  contests  are  won  by  accident.  The  Spanish 
fleet  was  not  lost  for  lack  of  powder,  men  or  guns,  but 


24  THIS   IS    THE    INVOICE. 

for  lack  of  fitness  and  preparedness.  The  North  Amer- 
ican Squadron  Avon  by  superior  intelligence.  Wars  run 
like  machines. 

Many  men  could  be  mentioned,  who  when  living  in  law 
attained  their  preparedness  before  they  gained  their  rich 
fees  in  practice.  As  one  said  of  the  late  Senator  Conck- 
ling — He  carried  more  manhood  and  influence  to  court 
than  many  counsel  combined  could  carry. 

Well,  Conckling  began  as  a  village  lawyer,  a  village 
debater,  a  country  politician.  But  he  said  things  that 
were  remembered.  With  a  rich  vocabulary — none  more 
persuasive  since  Lincoln — he  fed  his  hearers,  led  them, 
convinced  them  and  never  betrayed  them. 

THIS  IS  THE  INVOICE. 

A  young  lawyer  may  as  well  make  this  invoice : 

If  I  ever  amount  to  anything  I  must  do  it  myself, 
think  for  myself,  build  for  myself,  prepare  for  myself 
and  fit  myself.     All  as  early  as  possible,  for  I  know 
not  what  day  I  will  be  called  on  to  speak,  to  argue,  to 
contend  with  strong  men,  in  large  matters  and  to  win  a 
fortune      /  must  be  in  deep  earnest. 
What  shall  I  read?     The  foundation  text  books;  the 
leading  special  works ;  the  State  reports,  enough  to  know- 
where  to  find  things.     Is  that  all?     O,  no,  the  standard 
literary    works.      That   all  ?      No ;    to   fix   these    well    in* 
memory  I  must  go  to  talking  about  them.     If  ]  have,  no 
forum  in  the  court  room — being  new  in  practice — I  must 
win  a  place  in  the  legislature,  in  a  debating  society,  on 
the    rostrum.      1    must    put    in    practice    what    I    learn, 
promptly,  to  be  ready — alert,  with  adapted  stories,  illus- 
trations,   strong   and   striking   passages,    an   all   aroun  1 
fitness,   like   Lincoln,   Beach,   Miller  and  Hendricks  ac- 
quired— a  fitness  is  a  fortune  to  a  lawyer. 


ART    OF'"    ADVOCATES.  25 

This  is  his  equipment,  this  is  his  armour,  this  is  his 
start,  this  his  character  maker,  money  maker,  fame 
maker,  courage  maker  and  foundation  for  his  oratory. 
Not  what  he  commits  but  what  he  applies  to  business. 

THE  LUXURY  OF  LAW. 

"If  I  had  the  leisure  and  the  lucre,"  said  a  bright  lawyer 
lately,  "you  would  not  find  me  drudging  over  other  mens 
quarrels  and  troubles.  I  would  be  in  California  in  winter 
and  find  the  seashores  of  Maine  in  summesr  or  the  far 
away  Alaska  summers  and  Cuba  in  the  winter.  I  would 
see  some  of  the  old  world  in  the  springtime  and  take  a 
look  around  Manila  in  the  autumn." 

All  of  which  is  poetical  enough,  but  lacks  much  of  the 
real.  Long  before  his  return  (from  so  many  seasons) 
half  of  his  clients  would  have  found  trouble  springing  out 
of  the  dust  or  sorrow  out  of  the  ground,  or  have  been 
born  to  trouble  and  have  gone  to  other  law  doctors  for 
relief,  and  once  gone  with  their  papers  they  would  rarely 
ever  return  again.  And  so  the  life  of  a  lawyer,  or  doc- 
tor, grinds  on  and  on  eternally  to  the  end  of  his  chapter. 
Lucky  indeed  for  him  if  he  has  laid  away  "acorns" 
enough  to  provide  an  income  after  the  decline  of  his  prac- 
tice. Lucky  if  his  fame,  good  name,  and  high  standing 
affords  him  a  clientage  to  support  his  declining  years  and 
provide  the  luxury  of  a  summer  vacation,  of  a  few  short 
weeks,  with  limited  excursions. 

Law  is  so  exacting,  so  changing, — such  a  jealous  mis- 
tress as  to  claim  undivided  attention  and  a  constant  re- 
search into  the  newer  decisions  and  events  to  keep  in  the 
procession  and  abreast  of  its  advances.  It  was  a  witty 
remark  of  Butler  to  a  stickler  on  knowing  the  new  and 
•old  statutes,  "You  keep  right  on  and  fill  yourself  up  with 
them,  and  along  will  come  some  d — d  fool  legislature  and 


26  THE    LUXURY    OF    LAW. 

repeal  them,  and  with  them  repeal  all  you  know,  and 
where  are  you?- 

To  the  young  lawyer  work  and  something  to  do  is 
luxury.  What  he  most  needs  is  a  forum,  a  rostrum,  a 
few  lines  to  deliver,  a  recall  before  the  curtain,  a  chance 
to  show  his  mettle.  And  in  no  other  place  can  good  or 
bad  mettle  be  sooner  detected. 

To  the  young  lawyer  light  cases  are  given,  heavy  ones 
all  reserved  for  those  who  are  overworked  and  over- 
burdened. But,  like  money  placed  in  bank,  people  all 
want  it  where  others  put  their  money,  so  the  more  a 
counsel  has  unfinished  the  more  is  thrown  upon  his 
shoulders.  And  the  real  consolation  to  the  young  men  is,. 
"My  turn  is  not  far  distant." 

Rut  computed  at  its  real  value,  the  young  man  of 
trained  mind  and  body,  with  character  and  fitness,  is 
by  far  richer  than  Carnegie  or  Morgan.  A  handful  of 
years  to  a  half  hundred  years !  Time  to  read  and  work 
and  see  and  learn  and  enjoy  the  work,  the  struggle,  the 
evolution,  the  advance,  the  brilliant  events  in  our  history  f 
Time  to  form  a  character  and  establish  a  reputation  f 
Time  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  living  in  a  world  like  ours — 
in  an  age  like  ours — in  a  century  like  ours.  A  half  hun- 
dred years  in  an  era  of  polished  warfare,  finished  travel, 
elegant  cities,  ideal  offices,  brilliant  achievements..  Oh, 
to  be  one  of  such,  with  capacity  to  enjoy  and  know  that 
such  great  luxuries  can  be  realized,  is  a  condition  at 
tained  worthy  of  any  lawyer's  ambition. 

So  that  the  strangest  thing  of  all  is,  that  the  richest 
in  all.  who  are  really  rich,  never  realize  it;  the  poorest 
are  those  worn  out  in  their  struggle  to  get  what  they 
must  soonest  part  with  forever;  while  those  who  ap- 
proach the  nearest  to  a  happy  condition  are  young  men, 
with  healthy  bodies,  with  a  moderate  income  and  well- 
stored  minds,  who  have  made  lasting  friendships.     The 


ART     OF    ADVOCATES.  27 

ideal  condition  is  to  be  too  busy  for  vacations,  especially 
long  ones.  The  highest  hopes  are  the  plaudits  and  praises 
that  a  court  victory  produces.  The  ability  to  win,  to 
speak,  to  please,  to  command  attention  and  deserve  pro- 
motion, is  the  luxury. 

A  RULE  TO  START. 

Accept  some  little  thing  to  do,  if  by  it  you  get  nearer 
to  a  client  who  has  means. 

Be  sure  you  do  not  overcharge  at  first  and  drive  him  to 
another  by  your  price. 

Cull  out  your  cases  well,  try  the  first  and  best  and 
settle  what  seems  likely  to  be  lost. 

Dig  deep  into  the  facts  and  law — the  first  is  best  to 
learn — the  court  may  know  the  law. 

Each  case  requires  a  jury  drawn  to  match.  There  is 
no  finer  skill  than  that  of  reading  jurymen. 

Find  from  their  heads  and  ages  and  from  their  eyes 
and  souls  if  reason  is  within  their  range. 

Gain  force  by  brevity  and  tact  by  order  of  your  proof — 
nor  fight  too  many  issues  on  the  side. 

Have  help  at  hand  to  bring  in  law  and  facts,  as  needed, 
at  the  trial.    If  not  you  break  the  thread. 

In  court  be  firm  and  fair,  but  fairness  need  not  waste 
itself  in  giving  rights  away. 

Just,  as  the  Court  may  be — he  is  not  driven  to  be  just, 
but  show  what  you  may  need. 

Know  every  inch  of  proof  that  you  can  learn,  and 
then  assume  the  other  knows  as  much. 

Learn  to  be  patient  with  the  aged  and  the  young  and 
tolerate  the  slurs  of  evil  men. 

Don't  swap  a  victory  for  a  joke. 

Make  friends  in  little  ways,  for  men  take  notice  of  your 
scowls  and  smiles.    Stale  wit  is  out  of  place. 


28  WHO     WIN    OUT  ? 

Nothing  can  equal  eloquence  but  lazv  and  proof.  You 
will  do  well  to  hold  a  reign  on  each  of  them. 

O,  to  be  ready,  wise  and  strong  and  not  lose  sight  of 
victory.    One  case  well  tried,  your  rise  in  life  is  won. 

Please  do  not  drop  your  own  sword  and  reach  for  the 
adversary's  and  lose  by  over  cross-examination.  You  can 
do  it  easily.  It  has  two  edges — one  it  gives  a  license  to 
lie,  dares  one  to  emphasize,  enforces  his  emphasis,  prods 
his  memory  and  may  make  his  friends  on  the  jury  resent 
the  impertinence.  In  twenty  years  practice  and  ten  years 
on  the  bench  I  found  very  many  losers  and  few  gainers  by 
cross  questions. 

WHO   WIN  OUT? 

Xot  even  a  large  part  of  law  suits  are  well  tried — of 
course,  not  man}-  are  first  tried  by  younger  members  of 
firms,  and  appeals  follow.  The  foam  is  brushed  away 
and  the  real  battle  commences ;  trained  minds  are  en- 
listed ;  apt  cases  are  digested  and  read  with  an  application 
that  enforces  attention.  Instead  of  rushing  on  the  court 
or  jury  with  a  bundle  of  assertions,  which  they  are 
anxious  to  call  the  law,  they  find  like  cases  which  decide 
the  law  quite  clearly  and  win  by  such  citations.  In  one 
case,  with  a  million  involved  in  a  perpetual  leasehold,  no 
cases  could  be  cited,  for  it  grew  out  of  a  series  of  letters 
proposing  a  Union  Depot  for  four  lines  of  roads,  praising 
its  location  and  advantage  and  finally  bringing  in  the 
several  roads  and  then  seeking  to  impose  an  annual 
burden  as  rental  over  a  short  line  directly  in  the  way 
where  each  line  must  and  did  pass  over  it.  For  the 
royalty  or  use  of  this  the  rental  was  expected. 

A  bright  clear  lawyer  made  his  defense  on  this  reason- 
ing :  Where  one  can  make  certain  and  does  not  insist 
upon  it  he  waives  all  rights  that  such  certainty  might 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  20, 

secure  and  is  estopped  from  later  raising  such  questions! 
lie  won  and  was  affirmed. 

It  is  enough  perhaps  to  tell  where  the  law  is,  rather 
than  to  commit  so  much  of  it.  It  is  ample  to  point  out 
how  things  are  done  and  leave  some  reasons  to  be 
searched  for  by  the  student.  But  I  am  convinced  above 
all  things  that  angry  remarks  at  the  court's  rulings,  or 
threats  to  review  or  appeal,  or  dissenting  remarks  are  so 
foreign  to  good  practice  that  no  one  can  win  by  such 
methods.  It  is  to  point  out  the  road,  the  plan,  the  means 
used  and  badly  abused,  that  this  item  is  printed.  Other, 
and  sometimes  better  cases,  can  be  cited.  But  a  model 
trial,  as  to  counsel,  was  a  case  using  seven  weeks  on  a 
$100,000  note,  defended  as  not  made  on  authority  of  a 
railway  company — and  urged  as  one  of  $800,000  in  simi- 
laf  paper  so  made  and  dealt  in,  cashed  and  realized  on 
by  the  same  directors :  in  which  case  no  unkind  word  to 
court  or  counsel  escaped  on  either  side  for  all  the  long 
searching  inquiry,  the  altered  books  and  scraped  entries, 
the  bank  cashier's  two  weeks  cross  examination,  the  four 
days  of  legal  arguments  and  the  wind  up  in  such  a  shape 
as  to  please  every  lawyer  in  the  case — shows  how  well  a 
good  deportment  wins  its  best  reward.  They  win  who 
do  the  best,  plan  the  best,  think  the  clearest  and  preserve 
that  dignity  which  becomes  the  ablest  men. 

THE  USE  OF  TOOLS. 

Artisans  usually  spend  three  or  five  years  to  learn  a 
trade — like  plumbing,  machinery  work,  carpenter  and 
mason  work,  before  they  are  master  workmen ;  and  law- 
yers are  fortunate  if  they  learn  ^as  readily.  The  work  of 
one  is  that  of  an  artisan;  but  the  other  should  be  an 
artist.  There  is  a  vast  difference  between  an  artist  and 
an    artisan ;    between    knowing   a   thing   generally   and 


30  SELF    DEFENSE. 

knowing  that  you  know  it — between  knowing  a  tool  by 
name  and  knowing  how  to  use  it.  It  matters  not  in  any 
line  of  business  how  much  a  man  may  know,  as  how 
much  he  can  apply  and  use.  There  are  three  special 
things  which  require  practice  to  give  confidence  and  to 
produce  good  results.  These  three  are  a  motorman's 
duty,  a  surgeon's  duty  and  a  lawyer's  duty.  It  is  easily 
noted  when  one  can  do  his  duty  easily,  safely  and  fluently. 
So  that  a  lawyer  should  learn  his  trade  by  lighter  practice 
by  debates,  by  constant  attention,  until  he  can  rise  and 
speak  with  as  much  ease  as  a  delivery  boy  mounts  his 
wheel  or  a  cavalry  rider  mounts  his  horse. 

SELF  DEFEXSE. 

The  law  of  self  defense  is  settled  by  the  words  of 
Judges  Christiancy,  Graves  and  Campbell,  in  Hurd  and 
Brownell  cases,  25  and  38  Mich,  and  later  by  Justice 
Harlan  of  the  highest  court  in  the  world.    It  is : 

One  who  is  attacked  by  a  person  of  superior  size,  or 
armed  with  a  deadly  weapon,  and  placed  in  fear  of  serious 
bodily  harm,  to  self  or  family,  may  defend  himself  or  his 
family  and  even  resort  to  any  adequate  means — to  the 
taking  of  life — to  disarm  his  assaulter,  and  he  is  to  be 
judged  by  the  circumstances  as  they  appear  to  him  at  the 
time — not  as  they  would  appear  to  a  cooler  person :  The 
test  being,  not  what  was  the  actual  danger,  but  what  ap- 
peared to  him  at  the  time  to  be  danger. 

And  it  was  held  in  the  Lilly  case,  38  Mich,  and  Brow- 
nell case,  id.,  same,  that  one  need  not  call  on  by-standers 
to  aid  him.  He  must  act  and  it  is  his  duty  to  defend  his 
home  and  those  dependent  upon  him.  Then,  to  quote 
Justice  Harlan — He  need  not  retreat  to  the  wall;  he 
may  go  to  the  scene  of  danger.  Where  else  should  he  be 
Avhen  his  family  was  in  danger,  but  with  his  family? 


ART     OF    ADVOCATES.  3 1 

In  case  in  mind  one  was  ten  inches  tulier,  much 
stronger,  known  to  be  violent,  and  called  in  the  eveniiv.; 
where  the  smaller  man's  wife  lay  sick  in  confinement.  Ik 
pounded  on  the  door;  used  vile  language,  called  on    he 

little  man  to  "come  out  yon  son  of  a  b h  and  I'll  ^et 

hold  of  you  and  clean  up  with  you  D n  you !     Come 

out !  Come  out !  The  little  man  ordered  the  colored  man 
away,  saying,  "Go  along  home  Joe,  my  wife  is  sick,  go 
on !"'  But  again  he  said  in  the  dark:  "I'll  clean  np  with 
you  now.  I'll  kill  you!"  Then  he  was  shot  and  the  cases 
all  apply.  This  is  the  law,  born  in  us  and  with  us.  When 
one  is  attacked  by  robbers  or  enemies  he  ma}'  act  under 
the  facts  as  they  appear  to  him  at  the  time.  Jury  said 
Not  Guilty. 

It  is  not  so  much  the  law  as  the  way  it  applies ;  not  so 
much  the  shot  as  why  ?  It  is  not  so  much  what  was  done 
as  who  began  it!  Who  brought  it  on?  Who  enabled  it 
to  happen?  Such  are  the  facts  and  such  is  the  law  to 
enforce — to  bring  home — to  apply — to  rivet  in  the  minds 
of  the  court  and  jury,  to  insure  a  fair  verdict.  The  jury 
saw  it  all.  The  jury  can  see  such  things  because  they  are 
brief  and  simple ;  they  appeal  to  their  sense  of  right  and 
justice.  They  know  they  could  do  no  less,  unless  they  hid 
away  and  left  their  own  exposed  to  death  and  danger. 
Perhaps  a  thousand  cases  could  be  cited  in  this  line,  but 
they  could  not  make  the  reason  stronger.  Truth  is  so 
simple  that  once  well  stated  it  forms  its  own  conclusion 
and  points  to  its  own  climax. 

One  thought  more.  Number  of  witnesses  should  never 
count  in  self  defense,  the  test  being  never  what  the  real 
danger  is  but  what  it  appeared  to  be  at  the  time.  Then 
two  witnesses  may  often  outweigh  ten !  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
many  experiences  with  winning  on  a  small  amount  of 
evidence.    Here  is  one: 


32  Lincoln's  first  murder  case. 

A  farmer  lost  a  young  colt,  and  two  men  claimed  it. 
Twenty  witnesses  swore  they  had  known  it  from  birth. 
Lincoln  said, — They  have  twenty ;  we  have  two.  Then 
he  opened  the  gate,  and  the  youn^  colt  quickly  picked 
out  its  own  mother  from  a  bunch  r-.x  *---ses,  and  the  jury 
decided  with  Lincoln. 

The  real  test  comes  to  a  lawyer  when  he  starts  to  make 
his  case  from  the  enemy's  witness,  by  cross  examination. 
As  an  example  follows  this  item  that  will  be  an  object 
lesson.  It  will  show  by  its  own  picture  the  better  way 
and  conceded  to  be  a  forceful  method.  I  know  of  none 
better,  that  is,  in  good  temper,  with  clearness,  keeping  the 
thread,  drawing  the  focus,  watching  the  climax  and  quit- 
ting with  a  victory. 


LINCOLN'S  FIRST  MURDER  CASE. 
(From  Tact  in  Court). 

The  simplest  story  of  a  murder  trial  is  always  of 
interest,  and  especially  so  where  the  case  is  conducted 
on  either  side,  by  men  with  the  ability  and  genius  that 
Abraham  Lincoln  possessed. 

Grayson  was  charged  with  shooting  Lockwood,  at  a 
camp  meeting,  on  the  evening  of  August  9,  18 — ,  and  with 
running  away  from  the  scene  of  the  killing,  which  was 
witnessed  by  Sovine.  The  proof  was  so  strong  that  even 
with  an  excellent  previous  character,  Grayson  came  very 
near  being  lynched  on  two  occasions  soon  after  his  indict- 
ment for  murder. 

The  mother  of  the  accused,  after  failing  to  secure  older 
counsel,  finally  engaged  young  Abraham  Lincoln,  as  he 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  33 

was  then  called,  and  the  trial  came  on  to  an  early  hearing. 
No  objection  was  made  to  the  jury,  and  no  cross-examina- 
tion of  witnesses,  save  the  last  and  only  important  one, 
who  swore  that  he  knew  the  parties,  saw  the  shot  fired 
by  ( J ray son,  saw  him  run  away,  and  picked  up  the  de- 
ceased, who  died,  instantly. 

The  evidence  of  guilt  and  identity  was  morally  certain. 
The  attendance  was  large,  the  interest  intense.  Grayson's 
mother  began  to  wonder  why  "Abraham  remained  silent 
so  long  and  why  he  didn't  do  something-" 

The  people  finally  rested.  The  tall  lawyer  (Lincoln) 
stood  up  and  eyed  the  strong  witness  in  silence,  withiut 
books  or  notes,  and  slowly  began  his  defense  by  these 
questions : 

"  And  you  were  with  Lockwood  just  before  and  saw 
the  shooting?" 

M  Yes." 

"  And  stood  very  near  to  them  ?" 

"  Xo,  about  twenty  feet  away." 

"  May  it  not  have  been  ten  feet?" 

"  Xo,  it  was  twenty  feet  or  more." 

"  In  the  open  field?" 

"  Xo.  in  the  timber." 

"  What  kind  of  timber?" 

"  Beech  timber." 

"  Leaves  on  it  are  rather  thick  in  August 

"  Rather." 

"  And  you  think  this  pistol  was  the  one  used?" 

"  It  looks  like  it." 

"  You  could  see  defendant  shoot — see  how  the  barrel 
hung  and  all  about  it !" 

-Yes." 

"  How  near  was  this  to  the  meeting  place?" 

**  Three-quarters  of  a  mile  away." 


34  LINCOLN  S    FIRST    MURDER   CASE. 

*'  Where  were  the  lights?" 

''  Up  by  the  minister's  stand." 

"  Three-quarters  of  a  mile  away  ?" 

"  Yes." — "  In  answered  ye  tzviste." 

"  Did  you  not  see  a  candle  there,  with  Lockwood  or 
Grayson?" 

"  Xo !  what  would  we  want  a  candle  for?" 

"  How  then,  did  you  see  the  shooting?" 

"  By  moonlight!"  (defiantly). 

"  You  saw  this  shooting  at  ten  at  night — in  beech  tim- 
ber, three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  lights — saw  the 
pistol  barrel — saw  the  man  fire — saw  it  twenty  feet  away 
— saw  it  all  by  moonlight?  Saw  it  nearly  a  mile  from 
the  camp  lights  ?" 

'"  Yes.  I  told  you  so  before." 

The  interest  was  now  so  intense  that  men  leaned  for- 
ward to  catch  the  smallest  syllable.  Then  the  lawyer 
drew  cut  a  blue-covered  almanac  from  his  side  coat 
pocket— opened  it  slowly — offered  it  in  evidence — showed 
it  to  the  jury  and  the  court — read  from  a  page  with  care- 
ful deliberation  that  the  moon  on  that  night  was  unseen 
and  only  arose  at  one  the  next  morning! 

Following  this  climax  Mr.  Lincoln  moved  the  arrest 
of  the  perjured  witness  as  the  real  murderer,  saying: 
"Nothing  but  a  motive  to  clear  himself  could  have  induced 
him  to  swear  away  so  falsely  the  life  of  one  who  never 
did  him  harm!"  With  such  determined  emphasis  did 
Lincoln  present  his  showing  that  the  court  ordered  Sovine 
arrested,  and  under  the  strain  of  excitemen  the  broke 
down  and  confessed  to  being  the  one  who  fired  the  fatal 
shot  himself,  but  denied  it  was  intentional. 

This  lesson  to  lawyers,  who  may  not  read  the  whole 
story,  is  a  good  law  lecture.  It  may  be  added  that  Lin- 
coln first  determined  his  client  was  not  guilty  and  having 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  35 

settled  that  point  he  knew  the  story  was  one  made  up  for 
a  purpose,  and  that  purpose  he  was  bound  to  discover, 
and  did  discover  in  his  own  original  manner. 

As  a  reader  of  trials  for  years,  this  one  presents  as 
keen  interest  and  displays  as  much  sagacity  of  counsel 
as  any  I  have  found — even  Choate  or  Webster  could 
have  done  no  better — many  other  trials  are  more  elaborate 
in  detail,  many  contain  passages  of  wit  and  arguments 
of  rare  eloquence — they  are  lessons  from  life  and  full  of 
wisdom — some  of  masterful  logic,  yet  none  are  so  great 
or  were  so  ably  conducted  as  to  overshadow  this  simple 
victory  by  a  young  country  lawyer,  who  lived  to  be  the 
leader  of  a  nation  and  filled  with  honor  the  highest  station 
in  the  world. 


LINCOLN'S  GREATNESS. 

The  single  sentence  of  his  mother, — THINK  FOR 
YOURSELF,  ABRAM,  BE  INDEPENDENT— made 
such  a  deep  impression  on  the  boy's  mind,  that  a  fixed 
habit  grew  from  it,  and  he  practiced  the  lesson  through- 
out his  life. 

His  thoughts  and  struggles  made  him  great ;  he  grew 
in  body  to  a  stalwart  boy,  and  his  very  poverty  brought 
his  bare  feet  to  the  magnetism  of  the  earth,  which  was 
another  reason.  A  healthy  body  and  a  giant  frame, — one 
who  could  help  at  log-house  raising, — shoulder  a  barrel 
of  flour,  or  hold  two  quarreling  men  apart  created  admira- 
tion with  the  pioneers. 

Lincoln  was  a  genius  in  study  and  in  action.  He 
mastered  books,  as  he  mastered  men.  He  solved  the  prob- 
lems of  Euclid,  and  leaarn  edsurveying  practically  with- 


36  Lincoln's  greatness. 

out  a  teacher.  He  learned  to  reaason  with,  and  convince 
himself  first,  and  when  things  were  clearly  known  he 
could  make  them  clear  to  others.  His  constant  thinking 
made  his  thinking  clear.  He  solved  the  hard  problems  of 
life  alone,  and  knew  them  well  by  heart, — poverty,  study, 
travel,  reading,  law,  debate,  active  contest.  He  drank  in 
the  contents  of  Blackstone,  Burns,  the  Bible,  Bunyan, 
Shakespeare,  and  surveying,  with  a  thurst  and  hunger 
after  wisdom.  What  he  learned  was  his  own,  and  he 
could  use  it.  Instead  of  complaining  of  his  lot, — which 
was  hard, — he  worked  and  grew  out  of  it.  He  knew 
that  he  was  homely,  and  said  th  eAlmighty  must  have 
liked  homely  people  best,  he  made  so  many  more  of 
them ! 

When  the  others  drank  he  kept  sober ;  when  others 
quarreled  he  kept  good  natured.  His  stories  were  popu- 
lar, his  voice  clear,  his  words  all  had  a  meaning  which  he 
knew.  He  had  felt  sorrow,  and  it  had  enlarged  his  sym- 
pathy. But  of  all  things,  he  had  the  courage  of  a  thinker. 
His  mother's  motto  had  made  his  thinking  original. 

His  grasp  of  subjects  was  superb.  He  was  charitable, 
and  filled  the  great  demand  of  gentleness  to  all,  not  given 
to  small  ambition,  considerate,  and  above  all,  unselfish. 
These  tests  measure  greatness. 

Measured  by  one  test  alone, — zvhat  he  did  to  make 
others  happy,  the  fame  of  Caesar,  Alexander  and 
Napoleon  sink  to  the  level  of  the  dust,  while  the  fame  of 
Lincoln  rises  to  the  height  of  the  Washington  Monument, 
the  highest  monument  built  by  man  for  man. 

The  closing  scene  of  his  life,  was  the  victory  and  re- 
joicing of  the  Xorth.  On  the  9th  of  April,  1865,  then 
the  murder  scene  at  Ford's  Theatre,  April  14th.  The 
funeral  procession  from  Washington  to  Springfield,  and 
his  burial.    These  are  all  household  words. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  37 

They  did  not  bury  his  good  deeds,  his  fame,  his  great 
career.  The  news  went  to  Germany  and  stopped  a  May 
Day  feast  in  aa  great  hall ;  that  showed  fame's  climax. 
As  the  news  of  Lincoln's  murder  was  announced,  the 
music  ceased,  the  glasses  dropped  to  the  tables,  the 
flowers  fell  to  the  floor ;  the  people  marched  away  as  from 
a  funeral.     It  was  as  though  a  King  had  passed  away. 

His  likeness  hangs  on  more  wralls,  his  sayings  are 
longer  remembered,  his  deeds  made  more  happiness,  his 
example  is  purer,  his  nobility  of  character  is  greater,  his 
power  to  please  was  larger,  than  that  of  any  other  man 
born  in  the  last  hundred  years. 

BOY  AND  MAX  LAWYERS. 

Life  has  its  likeness  in  the  seasons  of  the  year  and  even 
in  the  parts  of  a  day.  We  know  there  will  be  life  and 
seasons  every  year  and  hours  in  every  day ;  but  not  until 
they  come  and  go  and  show  us  what  results  will  come 
with  each  can  we  foresee  their  truth.  They  are  like  boy 
dreams,  just  ahead;  but  what  they  can  be  counted  on  to 
bring  us  is  a  riddle  deeper  than  the  best  can  solve.  And 
it  is  better  so.  A  boy's  most  vivid  dream  even  can  never 
tell  what  place  awaits  him  later  on.  Like  Grant,  he  may 
be  oftener  at  the  foot  instead  of  at  the  head  end  of  his 
class. 

And  then  the  boy  has  all  to  learn,  has  all  to  meet,  has 
competition  made  to  match  him  every  day.  and  he  must 
fight  to  win  and  fill  each  place  clear  full,  or  lose  it  for 
another,  better  suited  to  the  niche.  This  is  the  very  gist 
of  all.  Grant  filled  the  niche.  So,  also,  Lincoln  did,  and 
Meade  and  Edison ;  yet  what  a  long,  long  struggle  each 
one  had. 

And  so  with  great  doctors,  like  Agnew,  Douglas  and 
Lorenz — great  men,  and  not  so  great  when  boys — not  one 


38  HOES    LAW    PAY  ? 

of  all  the  list,  so  far  named,  gave  even  promise  at  the 
morning  of  their  lives  just  what  the  day  would  be  to 
either  one.  Xot  one  had  ever  dreamed  as  much,  yet  each 
kept  thinking  on,  and  working  on,  and  hoping  on,  till 
hope  seemed  his  guiding  star, — until  at  last  he  won. 

And  so  the  Spring  time  of  our  lives  may  open  like  a 
rainy  day  and  seem  all  cheerless,  hopeless,  dark  and 
dismal  in  itself,  yet  brighten  in  the  summer  with  an 
autumn  fruitage  and  a  harvest  of  good  yield. 

So  he  who  asks,  what  shaall  the  harvest  be  of  life,  has 
framed  a  riddle  very  deep  indeed — which  time  alone  can 
solve. 

The  one  unerring  test  which  has  applied  to  all  the  great 
inventors,  soldiers,  merchants,  lawyers,  teachers,  preach- 
ers, writers  and  fortune  gainers  with  the  rest,  is  patience 
and  a  will  to  work  and  not  surrender  till  victory  hands 
them  its  reward. 

And  when  they  gain  the  goal  and  reap  the  harvest  of 
their  lives,  what  else?  Why,  sure  enough,  what  else? 
What  should  there  be  but  rest,  and  fame  and  honor, 
friendship  and  happiness  as  a  reward.  The  day  ends  with 
its  sunset  and  its  rest,  to  wake  again  to-morrow.  The 
seasons  pass  from  each  to  each  all  noiselessly — Man  has 
his  day,  his  honor,  and  his  rest,  as  seasons  have  their 
passing  to  and  fro.  They  are  not  made  in  vain.  Xo  more 
is  Man.  The  plan  of  each  is  further  off  than  we  can  see. 
The  destiny  is  as  far  beyond  our  vision,  thought  or  fore- 
caste,  as  school-days  are  a  forecaste  of  the  man.  The 
future  is  with  one  who  rules  the  world. 

DOES  LAW  PAY? 

The  questions  of:  Shall  I  study  law?  and  where  to 
settle?  are  riddles  that  only  a  life  experience  can  solve. 
If  you  plan  to  make  a  fortune,  try  another  calling  than 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  39 

the  law.  or  gain  it  from  a  corporation.  Law  alone  is  not 
a  fortune  maker.  It  offers  insight  into  many  trades  and 
kinds  of  business.  The  pleasure  of  earning  fees  while 
doing  good  is  something  of  itself.  The  thrill  of  saving 
life,  or  liberty  or  estate  by  skill  is  a  rare  and  valued 
luxury,  and  there  is  no  luxury  like  facing  a  fine  audience 
and  pleasing  people. 

So  in  the  end  to  look  back  and  say :  I  have  lived  my 
ideals ;  1  have  filled  out  my  ambition ;  I  have  finished  my 
work  and  kept  my  high  resolves,  is  a  sure  success  in  life, 
lie  never  fails  who  wins;  he  never  loses  who  does  his 
best. 

Not  every  bud  becomes  the  perfect  flower,  nor  every 
bird  sings  sweetly  as  the  lark. 

So  the  swift  arrow  sent  with  certain  power  may  cleave 
the  air,  yet  fail  to  reach  the  mark. 

It  matters  less  how  little  or  how  much  we  do  in  life, 
or  what  we  gain.  It  matters  more  hozv  much  tvc  live: 
how  many  we  can  please  by  doing  good. 

And  where  did  you  say  is  best  to  start?  If  you  feel  a 
burning  confidence  inside  like,  "I  know  that  I  shall  win 
this  battle,"  then  the  larger  city  is  by  far  the  better  forum. 
But  men  may  not  all  linger  long  at  any  starting  place. 
Beach,  Conckling.  Edmunds,  Van  Arman,  Stoors  and 
Lincoln  were  country  lawyers  and  outgrew  their  be- 
ginnings. Edison,  Ingersoll,  Harrison  and  Hendricks, 
1  Maine  and  Gladstone  increased  in  favor  as  they  grew  in 
years.    It  takes  a  life  of  energy  to  make  a  name. 

There  must  be  some  blending  of  the  parts  to  lend  a 
harmony  to  skill  and  toil  and  plan  and  fruit.  A  lawyer 
has  in  reach  this  blending  power.  He  may  excel  in  office 
or  in  court,  as  counsel  or  as  advocate,  adviser  to  the  rich 
or  champion  of  the  poor.  Phillips  and  Sumner  belonged 
to  Boston's  bluest  blood,  yet  rose  to  fam  eby  advocating 


40  BIDE    YOUR    TIME. 

freedom  for  the  slaves,  and  neither  one  made  failures, 
though  with  smaller  gains  in  law — their  lives  were  vocal 
with  great  deeds. 

While  grudging  men  will  hold  that  wise  counsel  need 
not  reach  the  fame  of  advocates,  it  is  quite  as  certain 
that  only  those  with  fame  from  being  advocates  are  men 
employed  to  do  the  greater  work  in  law.  Speeches  made 
Clay  and  Webster,  Crittenden  and  Choate  lead  all  the 
rest.  Speech  and  its  logic  raised  Carpenter  to  fame.  It 
lifted  Lincoln  over  Douglas  in  debate.  It  thrilled  the 
Senate  and  fills  the  widest  space  in  England's  Court,  St. 
James,  with  Choate. 

All  that  the  richest  has  he  gives  for  fame.  Health, 
tod  and  study,  struggle  and  no  rest — to  earn  the  plaudits 
of  a  state  well  served.  The  lawyer  and  the  speaker  has 
the  trade  of  trades,  the  play  of  plays.  His  is  the  part 
that  only  stars  can  play  and  win  before  the  footlights  of 
exacting  men.  His  words  are  as  the  surgeon's  knife  that 
parts  the  quivering  flesh.  He  cannot  be  too  wise,  too 
true  or  «reater  than  his  clients  needs. 


BIDE  YOUR  TIME. 

Honors  that  last  come  late  in  life  and  law.  Only  a  few 
like  Taft  reach  out  and  pick  them  ready-made,  like  a 
District  Judgship.  Governorship  of  Philippines,  and 
Secretaryship  of  War.  while  yet  young.  Most  lawyers, 
like,  Matthews,  Edmonds,  Evarts,  Carter,  Jewett,  Carlisle. 
Conckluig,  Harrison  and  Cleveland,  lived  long  years  of 
preparation  first,  and  took  their  honors  later  on.  To  a 
young  lawyer,  more  than  all,  the  path  is  steep  and  slippery. 
He  must  fall  down  and  lost  so  often  that  it  looks  and 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  41 

seems  discouraging.  But  he  is  in  line,  and  if  well 
equipped  his  turn  will  surely  come,  in  larger  fees  and 
Cases,  as  his  years  go  by.  For  men  reverence  age  in  law 
who  dread  it  in  the  ministry.  Why?  Simply  that  laws 
are  rules  of  ancient  origin,  so  many  and  so  complicated 
thaat  no  mere  boy  in  law  can  learn  to  comprehend  their 
■clearer  import. 

A  young  lawyer  may  well  consider  this:  Older  men 
are  richer,  older  counsel  have  drawn  their  prizes,  thick 
and  fast  it  may  be.  Theirs  may  be  a  carriage  to  drive, 
and  I  to  walk.  I'.ut  they  would  trade  and  gladly  change 
their  drive  for  my  quick  and  easy  walk.  They  have 
their  honors  but  a  little  while  and  then  another's  turn 
will  come.  They  are  looking  to  the  evening  shades.  I 
am  watching  for  the  noon-day  of  my  life.  "I'd  rather 
laugh  a  bright-eyed  boy  than  reign  a  gray-haired  king." 

And  then  to  think  of  living  fifty  years  more  in  such  a 
world  as  this,  with  better  money,  better  books,  better 
■quarters,  better  Courts,  better  jurors,  better  heat,  light 
and  appliances,  more  questions — even  governmnets  to 
form,  great  enterprises  to  control,  vast  stores,  blocks,  and 
banks,  railways  and  wireless  lines,  engenries  of  war  and 
ways  of  peace  to  manage  and  control ;  the  head  work  of  a 
mighty  nation  to  map  out.  All  these  are  evnets  worth 
waiting  for  until  your  turn  arrives.  Yes,  bide  your  time. 
This  is  a  glorious  age !  To  be  a  young  lawyer  to-day  is  a 
princely  inheritance. 


42  TWO    STRANGE    DEFENSES 

CHAPTER  III. 

Abstracts  of  Arguments ;  Strange  Cases ;  Saved  by  a 
Picture:  Won  by  a  Joke;  Separating  Witnesses;  His 
First  Case. 

TWO  STRAXGE  DEFENSES 

I  recall  an  instance  successfully  defended,  where  one 
worked  twenty-one  months  traveling  for  a  tobacco  house, 
and  was  short  $2,200,  who  changed  the  books  to  con- 
ceal it,  failed  to  report  as  collected,  worked  at  $600  a 
year  and  expenses,  hoping  to  have  an  increase  in  July 
and  again  in  January,  whose  wife  had  been  told  that  he 
was  an  excellent  salesman,  and  should  be  rewarded ; 
that  it  mattered  less  what  his  expenses  were  if  sales 
were  in  proportion.  Well.  January  came,  and  no  in- 
crease. The  salesman  made  a  statement,  slipped  it  under 
the  store  door,  and  fled  to  Canada.  It  clearly  showed  the 
embezzlement.  He  wrote  to  the  house  to  meet  him,  and 
he  would  settle.  He  was  told  by  one  of  the  firm  to  come 
back  and  work  it  out,  and  consented.  Once  in  the  States 
he  was  arrested.  Covered  all  over  with  guilt,  to  all  ap- 
pearances, how  can  one  so  guilty  be  defended? 

Lawyers  do  get  such  cases.     Let  us  see. 

''How  did  this  shortage  arise?"  "By  advertising,  and 
treating,  and  spending  too  much  for  the  house.'' 

"Why  did  you  conceal  it?"  "To  retain  my  position," 
he  answers. 

"Did  you  not  fear  detection?"  "No,  I  was  paying  up- 
old  debts  with  new  collections,  like  a  retail  merchant 
buying  on  credit." 

"Did  they  know  of  your  high  expenses?"  "Yes,  they 
threatened  me  once,  and  wanted  to  limit  it  to  $4  a  dav. 
They  turned  me  off  partly,  and  my  wife  interceded." 


AKT    OF    ADVOCATES.  43 

"Ah.  she  knew  of  it?"    "Yes,  all  about  it." 

One  witness  and  two  circumstances  may  not  show  an 
intent  after  all. 

So,  with  these  facts  before  the  jury,  a  good  character, 
an  excellent  wife — a  fine  woman — a  splendid  and  full 
statement,  all  consistent,  as  stated ;  a  memorandum  book 
with  thirty  paid  up  and  crossed  off  embezzled  items,  it 
was  urged  to  the  jury: 

That  there  was  no  intent,  the  essence  of  the  offense 
established — going  to  Canada  was  not  embezzlement. 

The  statement  was  not  of  itself  an  offense.  The 
memorandum  showed,  if  anything — anxiety  to  pay.  The 
wife's  statement  showed  he  had  hope  of  high  wages.  He 
was  holding  on,  and  hoping  to  pay  all  and  be  even. 

The  time  for  a  raise  was  a  time  of  disaster.  He  was 
overtaken  by  a  storm,  and  hung  on  the  life-boat  of  one 
reason  which  should  clear  him  :  anxiety  to  maintain  his 
little  home,  and  increase  the  firm's  business.  Xot  for 
finery,  or  fine  houses,  or  horses,  but  on  a  limited  salary, 
night  and  day,  he  roamed  the  States  to  build  up  a  revenue 
for  his  cigar  firm.  Going  through  400  saloons  at  their 
bidding,  treating,  as  directed  "not  to  be  too  stingy,"  who 
knows  but  the  firm  had  received  its  value?  Who  knows 
but  for  twenty  years  their  revenue  would  be  increased 
by  the  expenditure,  had  he  not,  after  all,  exceeded  his 
authority,  and  used  too  much  of  that  money  out  of 
which  he  had  permission  to  pay  expenses  and  his  paltry 
salary  ? 

Sure  enough,  this  line  of  thought  cleared  him. 

STRIKES  AND  BOYCOTTS. 

The  one  new  question  in  the  government  of  cities  and  a 
puzzle  of  lawyers,  is  the  strike  question.     A  single  false 


44  STRIKES     AND     BOYCOTTS. 

move  and  bloodshed,  with  loss  of  wages  and  destruction 
of  business  for  months  may  follow.  By  the  right  adjust- 
ment, counsel  can  display  both  genius  and  wisdom. 

In  several  cities,  within  a  few  years,  great  harm  and 
hardship  has  come  from  bad  handling  of  small  disputes 
over  wages  or  unions,  that  greater  care  and  more  in- 
genuity could  have  easily  prevented.  Three  instances 
are  given  of  adjustments  that  may  prove  instructive. 

The  case  of  Fink  was  a  bill  to  enjoin  the  use  of  pat- 
terns, buttons  and  striped  goods,  used  in  the  making  of 
men's  blouses  and  overalls.  The  men  had  grown  up  in 
business  together,  and  Fink  started  a  rival  factory — 
indeed,  it  was  a  brilliant  rival.  Knowing  the  men  and 
their  extensive  business,  this  plan  was  adopted :  An 
order  to  show  cause,  followed  by  a  prompt  return,  and 
an  examination  into  the  facts. 

On  hearing  day  whole  dray-loads  of  goods  were  piled 
up  in  Court,  until  it  resembled  a  clothing  store.  The 
facts  were  that  Fink  early  agreed  to  return  the  old 
patterns  and  cease  using  the  striped  goods  made  espe- 
cially for  Carhart,  his  long  use  of  which  really  had 
become  equal  to  a  trade-mark.  It  was  found  that  the  but- 
tons were  union  labelled,  and  not  named  for  anyone,  and 
so  were  the  blue  labels,  leaving  so  little  to  be  considered 
that  a  terse  decision  which  held  the  parties  had  reached 
an  adjustment,  honorable  alike  to  both,  and  the  differ- 
ences requiring  more  time  to  adjust,  the  main  hearing 
was  set  forward  a  couple  of  weeks,  and  meanwhile  the 
whole  trouble  was  adjusted  to  the  advantage  of  both. 

A  decision  in  Stair  vs.  Theatrical  Union  is  in  point : 

This  suit  is  of  great  business  importance.  It  touches 
capital  and  labor  at  vital  points.  A  motion  is  made  to 
dissolve  an  injunction  issued  on  a  bill,  based  on  the  Beck 
•case,  which  is  now  the  law  of  the  State  in  such  matters. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  45 

In  that  case  the  Court  found  that  the  proofs  sustained 
all  the  charges  in  the  bill,  like  conspiracy,  violence,  co- 
ercion, picketing,  force,  hindrance  in  business,  together 
with  use  of  circulars,  all  constituting  a  boycott,  and  con- 
spiracy to  destroy  a  business.  In  this  case  I  cannot  find 
such  a  grave  condition.  In  fact,  the  sworn  answer,  by 
four  men.  denies  every  charge  of  importance  in  the  bill, 
and  leaves  the  burden  of  proof  upon  the  complainant. 

(Regarded  by  Gompers  and  used  to  wide  extent  in 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio  as  a  clear  explanation  of  both 
sides.) 

By  express  words  in  the  Beck  case,  using  circulars 
alone  is  not  an  illegal  boycott.  It  was  because  they  were 
all  coupled  with  other  means,  threats  and  force  and 
conspiracy,  that  they  were  held  under  the  injunction. 
Here,  both  parties  used  circulars,  Mr.  Stair  telling  his 
story,  the  men  telling  theirs. 

They  deny  on  oath  that  Mr.  Stair  offered  to  arbitrate, 
asserting  that  they  worked  long  hours,  and  Sundays, 
and  urging  that  their  offer  is  only  the  same  as  every 
year.  The  wage  question  is  not  in  issue  here,  that  having 
been  settled. 

The  real  issue  is :  Do  the  acts  so  far  amount  to  an 
illegal  boycott  ?  One  asserts,  the  other  denies ;  who  is 
in  fault?  This  issue  requires  sworn  evidence.  This  is 
not  a  decision  of  the  main  case. 

The  right  to  fix  the  rate  of  wages  and  refusing  to 
serve  for  less,  the  right  to  organize  Unions  and  to  make 
laws,  the  right  to  use  fair  persuasion,  truthful  circulars, 
statements  in  newspapers,  to  make  personal  appeals  with- 
out threats,  are  vested  labor  rights.  Even  the  Governor 
freely  uses  circulars  and  dodgers  to  promote  his  plans. 
The  right  to  hire  men,  and  fix  the  rate  of  hiring,  to 
discharge  them  for  cause,  to  control  one's  business,  to 


46  STRIKES    AND     BOYCOTTS. 

enter  and  leave  it  without  hindrance,  is  just  as  sacred 
to  the  employer  as  the  rights  named  are  to  the  employee. 
The  law  is  impartial  to  both. 

By  the  sworn  answer  filed,  the  Trades  Council  is  a 
mere  nominal  innocent  party.  No  one  has  shown  that 
the}'  took  part  in  any  form  of  boycott.  They  need  no 
injunction,  as  they  have  violated  no  law,  even  on  the 
strongest  statement  so  far  made,  and  they  are  held  to  be 
not  guilty. 

Both  parties  having  resorted  to  circulars,  while  each 
side  'wears  that  the  other  side  untruthfully  stated  the 
facts,  they  are  matters  in  dispute.  No  conspiracy,  no 
violence,  coercion,  force,  picketing  or  direct  interference 
with  help  is  shown ;  even  the  charges  of  the  bill  are  a 
little  uncertain  and  indefinite.  In  the  Beck  case  all  these 
matters  of  force,  coercion,  interference  and  conspiracy 
were  found  by  the  Supreme  Court  to  be  established 
facts  in  evidence.  Happily  the  breech  is  not  so  wide 
liere  as  in  that  case.  As  stated,  it  was  only  when  the 
use  of  circulars  was  employed  with  the  graver  charges 
that  they  were  prohibited. 

Any  decision  that  would  widen  this  breach  with  the 
men  (where  they  are  not  very  far  apart),  would  be 
unwise  and  injure  both  sides.  Certainly  one  who  con- 
trols forty  theaters  may  be  influenced  by  the  use  of 
Unions,  and  may  injure  Unions  by  leaving  cc  rtain  people 
idle  whom  he  might  employ.  The  law  should  encourage 
men  to  arbitrate  small  differences ;  here  no  real  effort  at 
arbitration  has  been  shown.  In  the  Schwartz  case, 
recently  heard  in  this  Court,  a  laborer  gained  relief  where 
an  employer  threatened  his  withdrawal  of  business  from 
a  firm,  unless  the  laborer  was  discharged.  Today  it  is 
the  employer  seeking  relief.  Tomorrow,  it  may  be  again 
the  employee,  asking  protection,  and  in  either  case  the 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES  47 

finding  must  be  so  reasonable  and  just  that  each  will 
alike  be  protected.  It  is  wiser  to  prevent  boycotts  and 
labor  troubles  than  to  stop  them  when  fully  under  way. 
Believing  that  less  harm  wil  come  by  a  moderate  restraint 
of  an  employer  and  employee,  this  case  will  be  managed 
accordingly.  It  is  unwise  to  strain  relations,  and  thereby 
deprive  one  discharged  in  Detroit  of  gaining  work  in 
Toledo.  Theaters  extend  to  all  cities.  Anything  that 
would  bring  about  peace  and  harmony  is  a  benefit  to 
both  of  these  parties.  Anything  that  promotes  strife  is 
an  evil.  With  these  laborers,  life  is  a  struggle  for  food 
and  happiness,  in  which  their  rights  are  governed  by  law 
the  same  as  their  employer.  To  deprive  labor  organiza- 
tions of  their  Union  relations,  of  their  circulars,  when 
peaceably  used,  of  persuasion,  or  refusal  to  patronize 
firms  opposed  to  their  Unions,  serves  no  good  purpose, 
and  tends  to  create  even  harsher  means  by  bad  blood. 
The  law  must  be  fair,  just  and  equal,  so  as  to  enforce 
itself  by  a  common  desire  for  its  universal  protection. 

Having  grave  doubts  of  any  need  of  an  injunction, 
but  defendants  assert  in  open  Court  that  they  are  willing 
to  be  restrained  from  overt  acts  of  violence  and  hindrance 
to  business,  in  the  joint  interest  of  both  sides,  where  no 
possible  harm  can  come  from  it,  the  injunction  will  stand 
dissolved,  as  to  the  Trades  Council,  and  stand  modified 
so  as  to  prevent,  if  need  be,  overt  acts,  like  force,  inter- 
fering by  threats,  blockading  passageways  to  the  theater, 
and  any  coercion  that  may  be  complained  of,  pending  the 
hearing  of  the  main  case.  I  did  not  issue  the  injunction, 
but  have  heard  the  motion  to  dissolve. 

In  Beals  vs.  Trunk-Makers'  Union  a  "show  cause" 
order  was  made  in  lieu  of  injunction,  and  on  prompt 
hearing  an  adjustment  followed,  showing:  By  all  odds, 
the  usual  "show  cause"  order  in  all  labor  troubles  is  the 


48  THE    UP-HILL    START. 

better  method,  of  adjustment;   quicker,   safer,   less   bad 
blood,  and  no  boycott. 

THE  UP-HILL  START. 

Really,  the  hard  start  is  oftener  the  better  beginning 
for  a  lawyer.  The  forenoon  school-boy  rarely  makes  a 
high  mark  in  law  or  any  business.  Like  the  Hare  in  the 
fable,  he  halts  and  rests  too  often,  and  lets  the  plodding 
Tortoise  win  the  race  before  him.  He  is  too  nearly  like 
the  idle  sons  of  the  rich  who  see  little  need  for  exertion. 

Give  me  a  boy  who  falls  down  on  his  pleadings,  is 
driven  to  his  wits'  ends  often,  crowded  in  a  corner,  and 
forced  to  think  and  plan  and  devise  or  invent  a  means 
of  escape.  He  is  the  inventor.  He  earns  success.  What 
a  lawyer  most  needs  is  a  forced  victory,  a  Hobson's 
rescue,  a  Farragut's  blockade,  to  test  his  mettle.  I  heard 
of  a  New  Mexican  quarrel  that  drove  a  lawyer  into 
Mexico,  and  so  jarred  his  mettle  and  made  a  man  of 
him. 

He  fled  to  Old  Mexico,  far  into  the  interior, 
changed  his  name,  and  soon  altered  his  appearance  with 
short,  curly  beard  and  broad  sombrero,  so  that  few  would 
have  known  him  six  months  after  the  runaway. 

In  the  City  of  Mexico  he  practiced  law,  or  rather 
studied  and  then  practiced,  and  joining  a  well-known 
firm  of  advocates,  he  made  rapid  progress  and  some 
money ;  but  his  first  case  was  still  before  him ;  the  laws 
were  strange,  the  forms  and  conveyances  unusual — not 
recorded,  as  in  the  Statutes,  but  by  bargain  and  sale 
carefully  copied  into  a  deed-book,  and  these  signed  and 
sworn  to  in  the  presence  of  the  register. 

It  chanced  one  day  that  a  neighboring  city  required 
an  advocate  of  skill  and  experience,  and  both  seniors  of 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES  49 

his  firm  were  unable  to  be  absent  in  term  time,  so  Sal- 
azarus was  chosen  and  sent  as  a  substitute,  with  a  sealed 
letter  to  the  high  court  of  justice,  as  one  who  "spoke 
three  languages,  was  blessed  with  rare  .insight  and  lib- 
erally educated,  with  no  small  experience." 

Not  like  Cicero's  ideal  advocate  who  had  all  knowl- 
edge, who  could  say  at  the  Olympian  games:  "Behold 
of  what  shall  1  speak  upon  ;  law.  science,  philosophy  or 
mechanics?  I  have  studied  them  all;  the  ring  I  wear, 
the  cloak  and  shoes  I  have  on,  were  made  by  my  own 
hands,  and  I  am  not  a  stranger  to  labor.'*  Not  this, 
exactly,  but  a  wise,  all-round  advocate,  who  is  versed 
in  Spanish  titles  and  customs  of  the  King's  grants  and 
conveyances.  At  the  reading  of  these  praises  Salazarus 
blushed  deeply,  but  was  determined  to  act  bravely,  and 
to  make  a  mark  early,  for  his  soul  was  in  his  mission 
aroused,  and  he  longed  for  victory. 

The  estate  was  a  large  one,  $200,000.  The  suit  hinged 
upon  a  trifle.  If  the  claimant  could  establish  his  rights 
to  the  grant,  the  mines  alone  would  bring  a  fortune.  The 
deed-books  were  not  brought,  but  had  been  carefully 
photographed,  and  the  originals  left  with  the  register. 
The  proofs  were  well  in  when  Salazarus  took  his  place 
"of  counsel"  for  the  defendant,  and  his  very  first  efforts 
were  intensely  important.  "Perhaps,"  said  the  Court, 
"our  learned  friend  (Salazarus  meaning),  "will  be  able 
to  enlighten  the  Court  on  the  matter.  He  comes  most 
highly  recommended."  The  Court  paused,  the  spectators 
grew  breathless,  and  leaned  to  catch  the  first  utterances. 
Salazarus  could  hear  his  own  heart  beat,  and  feel  his 
throat  grow  dry  and  husky,  as  he  reached  for  the  photo 
of  the  deed-book  and  studied  it  in  Spanish  a  moment ; 
then  slowly  and  with  that  deliberation  that  lends  weight 
to  argument,   ancj   gives   force  to   reason,   that   measure 


50  THE    UP-HILL    START. 

or  words  and  care  of  sentences  that  attach  value  to  every 
syllable,  he  said: 

"If  your  Honor  please,  it  is  clear  from  the  writing 
that  this  paper  is  unreal — not  genuine,  very  likely  a 
forgery.  1  mean  the  one  from  which  the  photo  is  taken, 
for  the  simple  reason  that,  being  an  ancient  grant  of 
Spanish  origin,  a  King's  conveyance,  it  lacks  solemnity. 
The  statute  of  that  date  requires  it.  It  is  enacted  that 
all  conveyances  were  from  he  King.  It  should  open  with 
the  King's  solemn  greeting,  and  formal  words  well  known 
to  your  honor,  \Dah  Fa,"  meaning,  "Have  faith — the 
King  is  speaking."  Beyond  all  question  this  is  an  ancient 
document,  and  this,  being  omitted  in  the  copy,  shows 
its  spurious  element,  for  with  it  goes  credence  and  con- 
fidence :  without  it,  is  chaos  and  confusion.  A  formal 
requisite  so  vital  was  never  omitted  by  a  King's  officer, 
and  no  doubt  was  an  oversight  in  the  copyist,  and  yet 
so  essential  is  it  to  the  validity  of  this  document,  that 
without  it  the  original  is  unlawful. 

"However  much  such  froms  may  be  criticized,  they 
are  sacred,  binding,  legal,  and  to  omit  them  is  to  do 
violence  to  our  sacred  customs." 

He  took  his  seat  amid  that  applause  that  is  seen  and 
felt  none  the  less  by  its  silence.  The  Court  ruled  promptly 
that  the  omission  was  fatal;  that  the  title  of  the  land 
remained  in  the  defendant,  who  received  the  award  with 
emotion  and  satisfaction,  keeping  his  dark  eyes  fixed 
meanwhile  on  the  face  of  the  new  "Daniel  come  to  Judg- 
ment," and  bowing  his  acknowledgement,  when  sud- 
denly, half  springing  to  his  feet,  he  exclaimed:  "Oh, 
Salazarus !  It  is  you ;"  looking  in  his  eyes  one  deep 
glance,  and  Salazarus  exclaims — Yes,  friend,  it  is ! 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  51 

AN  ELOQUENT  PLEA. 

It  was  a  hot  summer  day  in  Washington,  before  the 
White  House  had  been  darkened  by  the  murder  of  Lin- 
coln. A  crowded  court-room  hung  upon  the  thrilling 
words  of  a  tall  man  in  the  defense  of  Mary  Harris,  for 
the  shooting  of  A.  J.  Burrows,  in  the  Treasury  Building, 
for  deserting  her  and  marrying  another. 

These  were  a  few  of  the  eloquent  words  he  said : 

"The  child  became  absorbed  in  the  man.  What  else 
could  happen?  They  walked  the  pathway  of  life  hand 
in  hand  for  many  long  years  of  hope  and  fond  anticipa- 
tion. He  taught  her  to  regard  him  as  her  future 
destiny ;  he  was  all  the  world  to  her.  Her  heart  opened 
and  expanded  under  the  influence  of  his  smile,  as  the 
bud  becomes  a  flower  beneath  the  rays  of  sunshine  and 
of  showers.  She  grew  up  to  womanhood  in  unques- 
tioning obedience  to  his  will.  The  ties  by  which  she  was 
bound  to  him  were  the  growth  of  years,  and  embraced 
all  the  strength  of  her  trusting,  noble  being.  And  did 
all  this  have  no  effect  upon  the  subsequent  condition  of 
her  mind  when  disaster  came?  He  had  carried  her  to 
the  highest  pinnacle  of  happiness,  she  stood  upon  the 
summit  of  a  glorious  expectation — and  all  around  her 
was  sunshine  and  gladness.  Well  might  she  exclaim  to 
my  learned  and  eminent  brother,  as  she  paced  her  prison 
floor:  "Oh,  Mr.  Bradley,  you  should  have  seen  me  then! 
I  was  so  happy !'  Yes,  though  poor  and  humble,  yet  she 
was  loved  and  was  beloved,  and  it  was  enough ;  she  was 
content,  for  in  that  hour,  when  a  virtuous  woman  feels 
for  the  first  time  in  her  life  that  she  possesses  the  object 
of  her  devotion,  there  comes  to  her  a  season  of  bliss 
which  brightens  all  the  earth  to  her. 

"The  mother,  watching  her  sleeping  babe,  has  an  ex- 


52  AN    ELOQUENT    FLEA. 

elusive  joy  beyond  the  comprehension  of  all  hearts  but 
her  own.  The  wife  who  is  graced  by  her  husband's  love 
is  more  beautifully  arrayed  than  the  lilies,  and  envies  not 
the  diadems  of  queens.  But  to  the  young,  virgin  heart, 
more  than  all,  when  the  kindling  inspiration  of  its  first 
and  sacred  love  is  accompanied  with  a  knowledge  that, 
for  it  in  return,  there  beams  a  holy  flame,  there  comes 
an  ecstasy  of  the  soul,  a  rapturous  exhalation  more  divine 
than  will  ever  again  be  tested  this  side  of  the  bright 
waters  and  perennial  fountain  of  Paradise.  The  stars 
grow  brighter,  the  earth  more  beautiful,  and  the  world 
for  her  is  filled  with  a  delicious  melody.  This  is  a 
woman's  sphere  of  happiness.  There  she  concentrates  all 
the  wealth  and  unsearchable  riches  of  her  heart,  and 
stores  and  stakes  them  all  upon  a  single  hazard.  If  she 
loses,  all  is  lost,  and  night  and  darkness  settle  upon  her 
pathway. 

"Her  purity,  gentleness;  her  guileless  truth  shining 
out  in  every  work  and  act,  have  won  to  her  side  our 
best  and  most  honored  citizens.  Her  prison  cell  has 
been  brightened  by  the  noblest  and  purest  of  her  sex,  and 
delicate  flowers  from  loftiest  statesmen  in  the  world  have 
mingled  their  odors  with  the  breath  of  her  captivity. 

(Here  the  speaker  held  up  to  the  jury  a  beautiful 
boquet  from  the  White  House,  worked  in  with  rare 
flowers  the  words,  "Trust  in  Me.") 

"Men  venerable  in  years  and  strong  in  character  in 
their  immutible  principles  of  right,  have  been  drawn  to 
her  assistance  by  an  instructive  obedience  to  the  voice  of 
God,  commending  them  to  succor  the  weak,  lift  up  the 
fallen  and  innocent  in  distress. 

"In  the  name  of  Him  who  showers  His  blessings  on 
the  merciful,  who  gave  promise  to  those  who  feed  and 
clothe  the  hungry  strangers  at  your  gates,  unlock    the 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  53 

prison  doors  and  bid  her  bathe  her  throbbing  brow  once 
more  in  the  healing  air  of  liberty.  An  appealing  to  the 
searchers  of  all  hearts,  that  eye  which  sees  our  secret 
thoughts,  with  confidence  in  the  triumph  of  my  cause 
and  her  innocence.  I  surrender  her  to  your  hands." 
(Jury  said,  "Not  guilty.") 

WON  BY  A  J  OK  11. 

Attorney  Dysart,  of  Arizona,  was  employed  to  defend 
several  boys  and  girls  who  had  been  arrested  for  giggling 
in  church.  The  charge  was  disturbing  religious  worship. 
Flder  Tice  .Spears  was  the  preacher  and  informant.  He 
was  known  for  his  stern  piety  and  singularly  strong 
voice.  After  he  told  his  story,  he  sat  with  clasped  hands 
waiting  for  the  defendants'  attorney  to  begin  on  him. 
He  didn't  have  long  to  wait.  "Sam"  Dysart's  cross- 
examination  was  as  follows : 

"Brother  Spears,  you  led  the  meetin'  that  night?" 

"I  did,  sir." 

"You  prayed?" 

"I  did.  sir." 

"And  preached?" 

"I   tried  to." 

"And  sung," 

"I    sung." 

'What  did  you  sing?" 

'There  is  a  Fountain  Filled  with  Blood,'  sir." 

(  I  landed  him  a  hymn  book.) 

(  Mere  Dysart  pulled  a  hymn  book  out  of  his  pocket 
and  handed  it  to  the  witness,  with  the  remark )  : 

"Please  turn  to  that  song,  Brother  Spears."  The  wit- 
ness did  so. 

"Well,  stand  up  and  sing  it  now.  if  you  please." 


54  WON    BY    A   JOKE. 

"But  I  can't  sing  before  this  sort  of  a  crowd." 

Attorney  Dysart  (with  much  apparent  indignotion)  : 
"Brother  Spears,  do  I  understand  that  you  refuse  to 
furnish  legitimate  evidence  to  this  jury?" 

"No — no — but,  you  see " 

"Your  Honor,"  said  Dysart,  turning  to  the  Court,  "I 
insist  that  the  witness  shall  sing  the  song  alluded  to,  just 
as  he  did  the  night  of  the  alleged  disturbance.  It  is  a 
part  of  our  evidence,  and  very  important.  The  reason 
for  it  will  be  disclosed  later  on." 

"And,  mind  you,  Brother  Spears,"  said  Dysart,  se- 
riously, "you  must  sing  it  just  as  you  did  that  night;  if 
you  change  a  ncte,  you  will  have  to  go  back  and  do  it  all 
over  again." 

Then  the  elder  sang. 

The  witness  got  up  and  opened  the  book.  There  is  a 
difference  between  singing  to  a  congregation  in  sympathy 
with  you  and  a  crowd  of  court-room  habitues.  Brother 
Spears  was  painfully  conscious  of  the  fact.  In  the  old- 
time  hymns  you  begin  in  the  basement  and  work  up  to 
the  roof,  then  leap  off  from  the  dizzy  height,  and  finish 
the  line  in  the  basement.  That's  the  way  the  witnes-j  did. 
He  had  a  good  voice ;  that  is,  it  was  strong.  It  threat- 
ened the  window  lights. 

The  crowd  did  not  smile — they  just  yelled  with  laugh- 
ter. The  jurymen  bent  doublt  and  almost  rolled  from 
their  seats.  The  judge  bit  his  cob-pipe  harcer  and  tried 
to  look  solemn.  It  was  no  use.  There  were  onlv  two 
straight  faces  in  the  house,  and  one  belonged  to  a  rleaf 
man  and  the  other  to  "Sam  Dysart."  Sam  said  to  the 
jury: 

"If  you,  gentlemen,  think  you  could  go  to  one  of 
Brother   Spears'  meetings  and  behave  better  than  you 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  55 

have  here,  you  may  be  justified  in  convicting  these  boys 
and  girls." 

The  jury  said,  ''Not  guilty." 

THE  TEACHER'S  PERIL." 

This  school  scene  teaches  three  great  The  scene  is  a 
country  school — a  teacher's  trial  for  murder  •  More 
letters  speak  of  this  case  than  any  other  ten  cases.) 

The  court-room  is  packed  to  witness  a  trial  which 
always  excites  a  community.  It  comes  into  *heir  homes 
and  interests  everyone.  The  facts  are  best  developed  in 
the  argument.  The  time  is  Decembr,  1887.  One  hun- 
dred scholars  were  witnesses.  The  case  is  strongly  rep- 
resented for  the  people,  who  are  determined  to  convict. 
(They  have  convicted  the  defendant  in  their  hearts 
already.)  Notice  the  answer  of  the  very  first  juror 
sworn,  to  the  question,  "Have  you  formed  o-  expressed 
an  opinion  in  this  case?"  "Yes,  sir,  I  have;  J  have  said 
that  I  am  opposed  to  the  use  of  fire-arms  in  cur  public 
schools."  (Sensation.)  This  reflects  the  average  bias. 
A  jury  is  obtained  and  a  separation  of  witnesses  ordered 
— one  brought  in  at  a  time.  Before  any  evidence  is 
given,  both  the  people's  and  the  defendant's  counsel  care- 
fully state  their  case. 

The  proof  was  strong  on  both  sides.  A  single  incident 
reveals  a  discrepancy.  A  scholar  who  saw  the:  shooting 
swore  that  the  teacher  walked  to  his  desk,  took  out  a 
revolver,  put  it  in  his  coat-pocket  on  the  front  right-hand 
side,  from  which  he  drew  it  when  he  fired  at  Morrison. 
This  looked  premeditated.  On  cross-examina- on  it 
appears  that  defendant  had  no  such  pocket  in  the  coat  he 
tcore. 

A  part  of  the  argument  describes  the  case. 


56  the  teacher's  peril. 

It  is  morning,  at  recess ;  Calvin  Morrison,  an  unruly 
boy.  is  about  to  be  punished.  He  was  a  fighter ;  he  would 
run  away  and  tell  the  teacher  that  he  would  not  return. 
The  big  boys  laughed  at  him.  It  was  verry  funny  to 
them,  ile  called  the  boy  to  punish  him;  the  boy  fought 
back,  and  was  conquered.  In  the  tussle  a  whip  was 
broken  over  the  boy's  arm.  Another  was  snatched  from 
the  teacher's  hand  by  the  boy.  and  recoiled  on  his  nose, 
and  it  bled.  The  boy  rubbed  the  blood  over  one  side  of 
his  face  and  smeared  it.  School  was  called  again, 
and  suddenly  in  came  Morrison,  the  boy's  father,  a  large 
man  of  about  190  pounds.  Joscelyn,  the  teacher,  weighed 
122.  One  was  a  slender  cripple,  one  a  giant  in  strength. 
Morrison  was  angry.  Throwing  his  hat  on  the  desk,  he 
muttered : 

"I  want  to  know  (using  an  oath)  what  you  are  whip- 
ping my   boy    for "   starting    for   the    teacher,    who 

said : 

"For  disobeying  the  rules  and  running  away  " 

"Didn't  you  lick  him  for  that  yesterday?" 

"No,  but  for  disobeying  another  rule." 

"Well,  if  you  ever  lay  your  hand  on  him  again  (another 
oath),  I'll  pound  you  into  the  ground."  He  turned  to 
go.  He  saw  the  boy's  face,  he  turned  to  Joscelyn  again 
said:  "I've  a  notion  to  lick  you  now—!  Do  you  see 
that  blood  ?"  He  rushed  to  the  desk.  Joscelyn  drew  his 
revolver  from  his  hip  pocket  and  said : 

"Hold  on,  Mr.  Morrison,  you  lay  yourself  liable  for 
disturbing  a  school." 

( )n  rushed  Mr.  Morrison  to  the  rostrum.  He  clinched 
the  teacher  with  his  right  hand  thrown  over  his  neck, 
and  reached  with  his  left  hand  for  the  revolver,  now 
held  off  to  the  right  at  arm's  length.  The  struggle  was 
desperate.     In  the  extreme  moment  of  excitement  and 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  57 

peril.  Nature  and  instinct  prompted  the  thought  of 
Joscelyn.  "Oh,  God,  must  I  shoot — must  1  kill  him?" 
The  light  went  out  of  his  eyes,  the  room  whirled,  he  lost 
control ;  he  knew  not  what  had  happened,  whether  an 
accident  or  a  pull  at  the  hammer  had  let  go  the  dangerous 
bullet.  Morrison  was  hit  in  the  abdomen :  the  bullet 
passed  through  the  left  lapel  of  Joscelyn's  coat;  it  was 
buried  in  Morrison's  body,  but  the  strong  man  struggled, 
swearing.  "Let  go  of  it.  let  go  of  it."  In  a  moment  he 
wills  and  weakens,  and  mutters.  "There.  I  can't  hurt 
you  now — you've  shot  me!"  still  lying  on  the  teacher. 

The  small  man  rolled  the  large  man  off,  hurried  for 
a  doctor,  gave  himself  up,  was  held  for  trial  for  doing 
what  yon,  and  you,  and  you  would —  shooting  in  self- 
defense. 

We  will  show  you  by  his  father  (who  knew  of 
this  terrible  accident  by  the  machine  taking  off  part  of 
one  hand )  of  his  peculiar  dread  and  fear  of  danger.  We 
will  call  upon  his  brother,  and  prove  the  warning  to  the 
young  man  as  to  Morrison's  quarrelsome  disposition — a 
man  who  was  hard  to  handle,  who  had  five  fights  a  year 
on  an  average.  We  will  call  in  the  neighbors,  who  have 
seen  him  break  in  the  head  of  a  sugar-barrel  with  his 
fist ;  who  have  seen  him  kick  an  old  man  until  he  was 
senseless ;  who  know  him  to  be  violent  and  dangerous. 
Oh,  we  will  satisfy  you,  gentlemen,  in  spite  of  this  pow- 
erful army  of  trained  scholars  who  ran  away, 
confused  and  excited,  who  claim  the  teacher  fired  twice; 
who  heard  the  breaking  desk,  as  it  was  wrenched  from 
the  floor ;  who  saw  no  smoke ;  who  found  a  hole  an  inch 
square  in  the  plaster,  but  no  bullet;  who  admit  the 
anger,  the  swearing  and  the  clinching,  but  who  saw  no 
need  of  using  a  revolver.  Finally  we  will  show,  as  if 
to  call  one  from  the  clouds  to  testify,  that  Morrison,  the 


58  the  teacher's  peril. 

dying  man,  in  the  presence  of  two  ministers  and  his 
family,  when  aware  of  his  approaching  death,  after  he 
had  twice  been  prayed  with,  asked : 

"Where  is  Joscelyn?  He  has  gone  for  the  doctor. 
What,  gone  for  a  doctor  for  me?".  "Yes."  Is  there  no- 
hope  for  me?"    "Not  in  this  world,"  said  the  minister. 

"Then  tell  Joscelyn  I  ask  his  forgiveness.  He  will 
forgive  me.  I  had  no  business  there."  And,  next  to  the 
name  of  the  Savior,  the  name  of  Joscelyn  and  his  for- 
giveness was  the  last  thought  of  the  dying  man,  Mor- 
rison. 

The  judge  gave  all  the  requests  of  the  defendant.  He 
held  that  a  teacher  stands  in  school,  like  a  parent  to  his 
children,  and  may  punish  them  in  reason,  and  any  inter- 
ference, like  the  call  of  Morrison,  was  unlawful,  and 
he  could  be  expelled  by  force,  as  from  the  teacher's  own. 
home. 

In  the  closing  of  the  case  both  sides  grew  eloquent,, 
but  the  position  of  defendant's  counsel,  that  free  schools- 
are  the  foundation  of  our  institutions,  are  sacred,  and 
must  be  sustained,  seemed  to  go  home  to  the  jury,  and 
impressed  the  fact  that  Joscelyn  could  do  no  less  than 
be  manly,  and  the  best  way  to  stop  crime  is  to  stop  making 
criminals. 

In  closing  his  address  he  gave  the  following  illustra- 
tions to  show  that  bad  boys  make  bad  men : 

At  a  reunion  in  the  old  school-house  where  I  was 
trained  as  a  boy,  my  first  teacher  spoke  like  this :  *  *  * 
"For  nine  years  I  taught  this  Union  School,  often  with 
few  books  and  many  scholars,  in  an  early  day.  Always 
with  young  men  and  women  older  and  larger  than  myself. 
Many  were  punished,  for  it  was  more  the  custom  than; 
now.  Often  have  I  been  threatened,  secretly,  that  they 
would  'get  even  with  the  teacher  some  day'   (meaning,. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  59 

when  big-  enough,  I  suppose)  ;  but  no  one  ever  struck 
back.  Scholars  (7  have  watched  the  progress  of  these 
boys  and  girls  as  they  grew  to  manhood  and  woman- 
hood)— many  have  outgrown  their  teacher  in  size  and 
ability  to  master  him.  I  have  seen  the  studious  children 
of  the  poor — little  boys  with  patches  on  their  trousers, 
and  little  girls  with  blue  dresses  of  calico — grow  up  to 
be  men  and  women  and  far  outstrip  and  stand  head  and 
shoulders  over  their  favored  fellows  in  eminence,  and  I 
have  concluded  that  good  boys  make  good  men,  and 
that  good  girls  maks  good  women. .  And  I  tell  you,  with 
pain  and  with  pride,  that  one — only  one — of  my  scholars 
turned  out  badly.  He  was  unruly,  ran  away,  went  to  the 
bad,  and  ended  in  prison — brought  his  father's  gray 
hairs  with  sorrow  to  the  grave. 

"Ah,  gentlemen,  what  a  story  this  is,  and  how  true, 
after  all.  Have  we  not  learned  it  by  bitter  experience, 
that  bad  boys  make  bad  men  ?  And  do  we  not  know  that 
good  boys  make  good  men?  Look  about  you.  Look  in 
this  court-room  and  see  this  array  of  boys  and  girls, 
urged  on  by  their  parents,  to  fight  a  school-teacher — 
urged  on  to  sustain  this  Calvin  Morrison,  a  boy  of  only 
thirteen  summers,  whose  curly  brow  wears  the  scowl  of 
crime ;  who  swears  at  his  teacher,  fights  back,  and  brings 
his  own  father  to  the  grafe.  Great  Heavens !  Has  it 
come  to  this — has  the  sense  of  decency  sunk  so  low  that 
a  community  can  take  such  sides  and  set  such  an  atro- 
cious example? 

(Great  sensation  in  the  court-room)  *  *  *  when 
the  speaker  said:  "And  the  King  walked  out  and  bared 
his  head,  weeping  and  saying,  'Oh,  my  son  Absalom ; 
my  son,  my  son !  Would  to  God  I  had  died  for  thee — 
Oh,  Absalom,  my  son!     My  son! 

"I  have  told  you,  gentlemen,  that,  in  this  school-room, 


60  THE    TEACHER'S    PERIL. 

that  Joscelyn  was  in  his  home.  Who  but  he  should  guard 
and  control  it?  Who  but  he  should  ward  off  invaders? 
Who  but  he  should  enforce  order?  His  home  was  in- 
vaded, and  he  acted  under  the  law  of  self-defense  that, 
in  our  State,  makes  him  the  judge  of  his  own  danger 
and  permits  him.  when  so  assaulted,  to  resist  the  assault. 
even  to  the  taking  of  life,  and  defines  such  an  act  as 
excusable  homicide. 

"It  is  clear,  then,  by  the  evidence  of  both  sides,  that 
there  was  an  occasion  for  self-defense,  which  Cicero  says 
is  A  law  that  we  are  not  trained  in.  but  which  is  im- 
planted in  us ;  that  if  our  life  is  in  danger  bv  robbers  or 
enemies,  every  means  of  securing  safety  is  honorable ! 
*     *  Reason   lias  tait^lit  tJiis  law  to  learned  men; 

necessity,  to  barbarians ;  custom,  to  all  nations,  and  Xa- 
ture  to  u'ild  beasts.' 

"Besides  this,  gentlemen.  I  assert  that  laws  are  not 
strong  enough,  statutes  are  not  broad  enough,  and  never 
can  be  created  by  man,  to  restrain  his  own  arm  from 
warding  off  danger,  when  his  life  is  in  perd.  *  *  * 
As  it  appeared  to  him,  you  are  to  judge  him.  He  was 
almost  alone  at  recess :  the  boys  were  out ;  he  was  set 
upon  and  frightened  ;  he  must  act,  and  act  instantly.  He 
must  contend  with  a  giant,  with  an  intruder  without 
warning. 

*'He  had  been  enforcing  the  lesson  +lvu  the  way  to 
stop  crime  was  to  stop  raising  criminals :  and  think  of 
the  lesson  you  would  teach,  if  you  convict  him  for  stand- 
ing at  his  post  in  a  time  of  danger.  You  would  strike  a 
blow  at  our  common-school  system,  which  :s  a  center 
column  of  our  civilization. 

*'He  was  frightened.  Let  me  illustrate:  When  a 
gentlemanly  burglar  called  at  Mr.  Scotten's  house  one 
night  the  family  were  fast  asleep.     It  was  2  o'clock  in 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  6l 

the  morning.  The  cold  steel  of  a  revolver  was  pressed 
to  the  sleeper's  temple,  and  he  leaked  up  into  the  face 
of  a  masked  man  with  a  dark  lantern  in  ouc:  hand,  and 
said:  1  suppose  yon  want  something?  'Yes.  get  no.' 
said  the  burglar.  He  got  up.  'Fold  \our  hands."  He 
folded  his  arms  meekly.  'Show  me  your  money,  an  1  no 
harm  will  come  to  you.'  'Show  it!  demanded  the  bur- 
glar, lie  showed  it.  and  when  a1!  was  taken  (S7C0).  1 
bright  diamond  was  seen  on  his  t«*embiing  wile  s  finger. 
He  hesitated  and  said,  "Oh,  leave  that;  it  .s  our  wedding- 
ring.'  'Take  it  off!'  demanded  the  burglar,  and  the  wed- 
ding ring  was  taken  off  by  the  husband,  who  went  down- 
stairs ahead  (as  bid)  and  showed  the  gentleman  (?)  to 
the  door,  and  he  remained  so  under  his  control  that  he 
bade  him  call  again.'  But  if  he  had  shot  him,  the  whole 
State  would  have  said,  'Amen.' 

"1  must  leave  you,  never  to  speak  to  you,  perhaps,  till 
we  shall  all  stand  for  judgment.  We  will  know  each  other 
then,  our  masks  will  all  be  torn  away,  and  you  will  be 
asked,  'Have  you  remembered  mercy?'.  I  ask  you  to 
deal  fairly,  humanely,  mercifully  with  this  young  man. 
I  ask  you  to  uphold  the  cause  that  he  upheld.  I  ask  you 
to  set  an  example  to  dangerous  men,  and  check  the  raising 
of  bad  boys  in  our  country. 

"To  him,  imprisonment  would  be  more  than  death. 
Death  in  honor,  at  his  age,  is  not  to  be  so  much  dreaded 
as  a  life  of  dishonor.  Whether  a  wall  or  a  door  is  the 
end,  death  undoubtedly  opens  into  a  better  life.  The 
heavens  are  full  of  worlds,  by  the  side  of  our's  is  but  a 
speck ;  but  to  walk  up  and  down  a  narrow  cell  for  years, 
to  come  out  at  last,  if  at  all,  broken  in  body  and  mind, 
and  say,  as  men  did  after  sixteen  years  of  prison  life  at 
Auburn:  'How  sweet  the  air  smells  outside  today;  I 
never  knew  the  sunshine  was  so  good  before.' 


62  SAVED    BY    A    PICTURE. 

"But  it  will  not  happen ;  it  cannot  happen. 

'"The  last  words  of  Morrison  told,  as  he  went  to  meet 
his  God.  as  are  said  to  you:  'Where  is  Joscelvn?  I  want 
to  ask  his  forgiveness;  I  had  no  business  there' 

Going  to  his  home  beyond  the  stars,  muttering  self- 
condemning  words,  in  effect — he  is  innocent." 

Jury  so  found.) 

The  lessons  are: 

i.  The  truth  is  sure  to  be  known.  It  is  stronger  than 
falsehood.  This  falsehood  of  a  truant  boy  caused  his 
father's  death. 

2.  The  teacher,  like  the  captain  of  a  ship,  has  com- 
mand ;  some  one  must  rule ;  all  cannot  act  at  random. 

3.  Good  boys  maks  good  men,  and  bad  boys  make  bad 
men.  Our  schools  are  the  hope  of  the  Nation.  Only 
trained  soldiers  could  have  whipped  the  Spanish.  Our's 
could  read  and  write,  think  and  plan  and  win. 

4.  The  lesson  of  self-defense  is  clearly  shown  by  the 
words  of  Cicero,  by  the  wedding-ring — by  the  rule  'as 
it  appeared  to  him"  at  the  time,  he  must  be  judged." 

SAVED  BY  A  PICTURE. 

In  the  summer  of  the  year  i860,  one  hot  night  in  July, 
a  herdsman  was  moving  his  cattle  to  a  new  ranch  further 
north,  near  Helena,  Texas.  As  he  passed  down  the 
banks  of  a  stream,  his  herd  became  mixed  with  other 
cattle  that  were  grazing  in  the  valley,  and  some  of  them 
failed  to  be  separated.  The  next  day  about  noon  a  band 
of  a  dozen  mounted  Texas  rangers  overtook  the  herds- 
man and  demanded  their  cattle,  which  they  said  were 
stolen.  It  was  before  the  full  rule  of  laws  and  court- 
houses in  Texas,  and  one  had  better  kill  five  men  than 
steal  a  mule  worth  five  dollars ;  and  this  herdsman  knew 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  63 

it.  I  !e  tried  to  explain,  but  they  told  him  to  cut  his  story 
short.  He  offered  to  turn  over  all  the  cattle  not  his  own, 
but  they  laughed  at  his  offer,  and  hinted  that  they  usually 
claimed  the  whole  in  such  cases,  and  left  the  alleged 
thief  hanging  on  a  tree  a  few  days,  as  a  warning  to 
■others  in  like  cases. 

The  poor  fellow  was  completely  overcome.  They 
•consulted  apart  a  few  minutes,  and  then  told  him  if  he 
had  any  explanations  to  make,  or  business  to  do,  they 
would  allow  him  ten  minutes  to  do  it  and  to  defend 
himself. 

He  turned  to  the  rough  faces  and  commenced :  "How 
many  of  you  men  have  wives?"  Two  or  three  nodded. 
""How  many  of  you  men  have  children?"  They  nodded 
again.  "Then  I  know  who  I  am  talking  to,  and  you'll 
hear  me,"  said  the  frightened  herdsman,  who  continued : 
"I  never  stole  your  cattle.  I  have  lived  in  these  parts 
over  three  years.  I  came  here  from  New  Hampshire ; 
I  failed  there  in  the  fall  of  '57,  during  the  panic.  I  have 
been  saving ;  I  have  lived  on  hard  fare ;  I  have  slept  on 
the  ground ;  I  have  no  home  here.  My  family  remain 
East,  while  I  go  from  place  to  place.  These  clothes  I 
wear  are  rough,  and  I  am  a  hard-looking  customer — 
but  this  is  a  hard  country.  Days  seem  like  months  to 
me,  and  months  like  years,  and  but  for  the  letters  from 
home  (here  he  pulled  out  a  handful  of  well-worn  envel- 
opes and  letters  from  his  wife),  I  should  get  discouraged. 
I  have  paid  part  of  my  debts;  here  are  my  receipts  (and 
he  unfolded  the  letters  of  acknowledgement).  I  expected 
to  sell  out  and  go  home  in  November.  Here  is  the  tes- 
tament my  good  old  mother  gave  me;  here  is  my  little's 
girl's  picture,"  and  he  kissed  it  tenderly.  "Now,  men, 
if  you  have  deecided  to  kill  me  for  what  I  am  innocent  of 
send  these  home,  and  send  as  much  as  you  can  for  the 


64  SEPARATING    WITNESSES 

cattle,  when  1  am  dead.  Can't  you  send  half  their  value? 
My  family  will  need  it."  He  again  kissed  the  picture. 
"Tell  them  I  said  I  was  not  guilt}."' 

"Hold  on.  now;  stop  right  thar!"  said  a  rough  ranger. 
"Now,  I  say,  hoys."  he  continued,  "I  say,  let  him  go; 
he's  no  cattle  thief;  that  kind  of  men  don't  steal.  We'll 
take  our  cattle  and  let  him  go.  Give  us  your  hand,  old 
hoy.  That  picture  and  them  letters  did  the  business. 
You  can  go  free,  but  you're  lucky,  mind  me."  "We'll 
do  more  than  that,"  said  a  man  with  a  big  heart,  in  Texas 
garb  and  carrying  the  customary  brace  of  pistols  in  his 
belt.  "Let's  buy  his  herd  and  let  him  go  home  now." 
They  did,  and  when  the  money  was  paid  over  and  the 
man  about  to  start,  he  was  too  weak  to  stand.  The  long 
strain  of  hopes  and  fears,  being  away  from  home  under 
such  trying  circumstances,  and  the  sudden  deliverance 
from  death,  had  combined  to  render  him  helpless  as  a 
child.  An  hour  later,  he  left  on  horseback  for  the  nearest 
stage  route,  and  as  they  shook  hands  when  bidding  him 
good-bye,  they  looked  the  happiest  band  of  men  I  ever 
beheld.     So  said  an  eye  witness. 

The  candor  and  truth  of  the  herdsman  was  convincing. 
He  took  the  men  at  their  words.  He  deserved  his  release, 
but  the  appeal  to  their  hearts  was  touching  as  it  was 
simple. 

All  men  are  eloquent  in  that  which  they  know.  He 
knew  he  was  right.  It  was  the  truth  that  made  him  free. 
Truth  has  a  language  all  its  own.  There  is  no  counter- 
feit in  Truth. 

SEP  A  RA  TIN  G   IV I TN  ESSES. 

The  following  incident,  abbreviated  from  the  Apo- 
crypha of  the  Bible,  is  of  great  to  many  in  practice.     It 


ART     OF    ADVOCATES.  6$ 

should  be  read  in  full,  but  this  summary  will  explain  the 
salient  features  with  clearness  and  interest:  Joachim 
was  a  rich  man  of  Babylon ;  Susanna,  his  wife,  had  two 
children — they  were  good  and  very  beautiful.  They  had 
all  that  heart  could  wish.  In  'their  garden  was  a  rare 
park,  and  through  it  ran  pure  water. 

This  garden  was  the  place  of  holding  court  in  Babylon, 
The  elders  then  were  judges.  There  were  two  priests, 
a  large  and  a  small  one.  Both  admired  Susanna,  and 
loved  her.  At  noonday  she  often  bathed  in  the  garden 
stream,  and  one  day,  after  sending  her  maids  for  towels 
and  wash-balls,  she  was  left  alone  by  the  water,  when 
the  two  priests  saw  her  alone.  They  sprang  from  a 
thicket  and  one  seized  her  by  the  shoulder,  and  turning, 
he  saw  the  other  one  in  confusion. 

Both  remained.  "Consent  to  us,"  said  the  larger  and 
she  consented  not!  They  threatened  to  report  that  they 
found  her  with  a  young  man,  and  such  an  offense  would 
mean  death  to  her.  Susanna  cried  out  aloud.  "Oh,  what 
a  strait  am  I  in  i  If  I  consent  not,  I  die !  Tf  I  consent, 
I  sin  againt  God !  I  will  not  consent."  And  she  burst 
the  fence  doors  and  flew  away,  and  they  cried  out  against 
her.     And  the  people  called  for  a  trial. 

She  came  to  the  court-yard  attended  by  her  father, 
mother  and  kindred.  She  was  delicate  and  very  beautiful, 
and  she  was  deeply  veiled.  The  people  said,  "Remove 
the  veil,"  and,  seeing  her  beauty,  the  people  wept.  She 
looked  up  to  heaven  and  trusted  the  Lord. 

They  told  their  story  of  finding  her  at  high  twelve 
with  the  young  man,  who  embraced  her ;  that  they  seized 
her,  and  he  sprang  away.  The  people  believed  it,  for 
elders  were  judges,  and  they  condemned  her  to  death. 
Then  she  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  ''Lord,  Thou  knowest 


66  SEPARATING    WITNESSES. 

it  is  all  false !  Deliver  me  from  mine  enemies."  But 
they  proceeded  to  the  place  of  execution. 

Then  Daniel,  a  young  lawyer,  said :  What  fools,  to 
condemn  on  such  evidence !  Come  back,  and  try  the 
case  legally."  They  went  back,  and  Daniel  said:  "Sep- 
arate the  witnesses."  Then  the  priests  testified  one  at  a 
time.  The  big  elder  was  sworn  first,  and,  when  leaving 
the  stand,  Daniel  said :  "Stay  a  moment ;  point  out  to  the 
people  under  which  tree  in  the  garden  did  it  happen?" 

"Under  the  elrh  tree." 

"Stand  aside,"  said  Daniel,  and  called  the  little  elder, 
who  told  the  same  story  through,  and  was  about  leaving, 
when  Daniel  said:  "Stay!  Under  which  tree  did  you 
see  them  together?"  He  hesitated,  and  said:  "Under 
the  palm  tree"  (in  an  opposite  side  of  the  garden). 

"Thou  hast  also  lied,"  said  Daniel.  And  the  people 
arose  and  put  both  priests  to  death,  they  having  convicted 
themselves  of  conspiring  to  kill  an  innocent  woman. 
Then  Daniel  became  a  great  advocate  (with  a  splendid 
practice)  in  Babylon.  Susanna  was  all  the  more  respected 
as  a  virtuous  and  upright  woman — even  one  who  could 
resist  temptation  from  her  priest. 

This  incident  is  doubtless  Shakespeare's  foundation 
for  "A  Daniel  Come  to  Judgment,''  in  the  "Merchant  of 
Venice."  It  forcibly  illustrates  the  power  and  use  of 
separating  witnesses  on  a  trial,  better  than  a  dozen  pages 
could  define.  It  applies  more  to  criminal  than  civil 
cases,  but  in  all  assaults  and  general  accident  cases, 
should  be  used  and  remembered. 

HIS  FIRST   CASE. 

There  is  a  rosy  halo  of  imagination  surrounding  a 
young    lawyer's    ideal    of    professional    success.      He 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  67 

imagines,  to  begin  with,  that  his  first  case  will  turn  the 
tide  of  his  whole  future  existence.  He  has  pictured  to 
himself  a  widow's  son,  accused  of  a  dreadful  crime,  but 
little  less  than  murder;  of  a  network  of  circumstances 
which  his  keen  insight  will  unravel,  and  his  eloquence 
shall  hold  up  to  the  jury  in  a  bashful,  trembling,  pathetic, 
original  and  eloquent  style  which  sways  the  minds  of  men 
like  willows  in  the  wind.  And  then,  when,  by  rising  in 
their  seats,  they  utter  the  welcome  words,  "Not  guilty," 
he  imagines  that  he  will  lead  the  widow  through  the 
crowded  throng  amid  the  hushed  silence  of  an  admiring 
people,  who  will  be  ever  ready  thereafter  to  seek  him 
out  in  tims  of  legal  danger. 

But  what  a  blunder  this  must  be !  But  one  such  case 
in  a  million  ever  happen.  In  most  cases  if,  by  a  series 
of  little  losses,  and  a  long  line  of  labor  (five  years,  at 
least),  a  lawyer  learns,  by  the  bitter  school  of  expe- 
rience, that  people  who  go  to  law  are  cautious  in  hiring 
new  lawyers,  and  more  cautious  of  suits  after  the  first 
one,  he  has  learned  to  bear  rebuffs  with  patience,  he  has 
made  a  good  beginning. 

Imaginary  cases  seldom  happen.  Imaginary  success 
is  doubtful  in  any  business.  It  needs  contact  with  reality 
to  rub  the  dust  from  a  boy's  dreams  of  greatness. 

This  case  that  I  am  to  speak  of  is  not  one  of  the 
ordinary  occurrences  in  practice,  but  more  nearly  life- 
like than  a  boy-picture ;  and  I  may  say  here  that  /  believe, 
as  they  zeere  told  me,  the  central  facts  are  as  true  as 
Scripture.    I  use  his  words: 

"About  the  middle  of  June,  186 — ,  in  a  little  office  on 

G street,  some  sixty  days  after  admission  to  the 

bar,  and  while  burning  with  the  youthful  fires  of  enthu- 
siasm, I  had  written  some  friends  in  the  interior  that  I 
would  gladly  serve  them  in  any  capacity,  especially  if 


68  HIS    FIRST    CASE. 

they  ever  got  into  trouble.  Why  I  wrote  it  I  never  knew. 
Hardly  had  the  letters  time  to  reach  their  destination 

when  a  telegram  reached  me  from  Q ,   saying. 

'Come,  first  train ;  case  ahead.' 

"I  don'.t  remember  much  that  happened  that  afternoon. 
I  paced  up  and  down  the  office,  taking  down  first  one 
book,  then  another,  glancing  at  Greenleaf  on  Evidence, 
Chitty  on  Pleading,  Green's  Practice,  looking  over  the 
law  books,  and  finally  I  thought  best  to  examine  the 
forms  of  trespass,  trover  and  attachment,  thinking,  of 
course,  that  a  store  must  be  closed  or  a  swindler  prose- 
cuted.    But  nothing  seemed  to  satisfy  me. 

"I  took  the  night  train,  and  slept  most  of  the  way, 
reaching  the  scene  of  action  early  in  the  morning.  I  had 
thoroughly  resolved  before  leaving  to  'take  as  little  bag- 
gage and  as  much  wit  as  possible,'  for  I  have  always 
considered  this  a  standard  maxim  in  all  cases.  I  was, 
therefore,  not  burdened  with  valise,  and  taking  a  hurried 
breakfast,  I  started  for  my  friend  who  had  sent  the  tele- 
gram, and  met  him  half-way  to  the  village;  he  lived  in 
the  suburbs.  He  was  not  long  in  showing  me  the  situa- 
tion, and  together  we  soon  planned  the  compaign. 

"The  cause  of  action  was  murder,  and,  strange  to  say, 
little  was  yet  known  of  the  circumstances.  On  the  night 
previous,  while  the  quiet  villagers  were  about  retiring, 
between  the  hours  of  nine  and  ten  in  the  evening,  a 
shrill  scream  was  heard  from  the  banks  of  the  river 
Beisin,  some  eighty  rods  from  Main  street.  The  scream 
was  quickly  followed  by  a  sound  resembling  that  of  a 
heavy  wagon  drawn  over  a  high  bridge.  As  near  as 
could  be  remembered,  the  words  uttered  in  the  last  agony 
of  death  were,  'Don't  kill  me !  Oh,  Cal,  don't  kill  me !' 
The  words  were  shrill  and  dreadfully  tragic,  of  the  min- 
gled praying,  pleading  and  entreating — enough  to  melt 


ART     OF    ADVOCATES.  69 

the  heart  of  adamant.     But  no  help  was  given. 

"Let  us  see  the  river,"  was  my  first  salutation;  and 
already  I  trembled  at  the  tragedy. 

"Taking  a  little  row-boat,  we  paddled  leisurely  to  the 
opposite  bank  to  the  hut  lately  occupied  by  Cal  Water- 
man, who  worked  in  a  mill  near-by,  and  who  had  not 
yet  finished  his  breakfast.  I  had  previously  learned  of 
a  joint  insurance  on  the  life  of  Waterman  and  his  wife, 
the  murdered  woman,  and  determined  to  make  the  most 
of  it.  And  here  I  may  say  that  the  agvmt  who  insured 
them  was  the  means  of  my  connection  with  the  story. 

"Will  you  remain  here,  and  let  me  meet  him  un- 
awares?" I  said,  as  we  neared  the  lonely  cottage. 

Walking  slowly  up  to  the  doorway,  I  met  a  young 
man  of  nearly  twenty-six  years  of  age — strong,  well 
built,  with  black  eyes,  dark  features,  an  ugly  chin,  and 
an  arm  like  a  giant's. 

"Good  morning,  Mr.  Waterman ;  that  is  your  name,  I 
believe," 

"Why  did  he  turn  pale  at  a  common  salutation? 

"  'Good  morning.'  came  back  rather  gruffly. 

"I  live  in  Chicago,  and  have  come  to  your  city  to  take 
proofs  in  the  loss  of  your  wife  (the  insurance,  I  refer 
to),  looking  him  steadily  in  the  face,  while  his  eyes  went 
everywhere. 

"  'Yes,  yes,'  was  his  only  reply  in  words,  but  language 
is  not  all  words ;  'any  means  by  which  one  person  com- 
municates his  ideas  to  another,'  is  a  better  definition. 

"You  had  an  insurance.  I  think,  Mr.  Waterman,  that 
in  case  either  you  or  your  wife  died,  the  other  received 
the  whole  amount? 

"  'Yes,  that's  the  plan,'  said  he ;  'five  thousand  dollars.' 

"And.  you  know,  we  have  to  prove  the  loss?  I  con- 
tinued. 


JO  HIS    FIRST    CASE. 

"Yes,  I  suppose  so." 

"Well,  Mr.  Waterman,  we  are  troubled  most  at  not 
finding  the  body ;  can  you  relate  to  me  some  of  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  accident? 

"To  him  I  treated  it  all  as  an  accident ;  this  pleased 
him,  and  I  followed  up  the  advantage. 

"Let  us  go  over  to  where  it  happened.  Over  we  went. 
Now  tell  me  the  story  in  detail. 

"He  started  off  in  a  rambling,  irregular  way,  but  said 
enough  to  give  me  a  key  to  the  mystery. 

"I  will  meet  you  at  the  office  of  Justice  Thomas  at 
2  o'clock,  and  reduce  the  statement  to  writing  in  the  form 
of  an  affidavit,  which  will  complete  the  proofs,  if  you 
will  be  there,  I  remarked ;  and  he  assented. 

"Seeing  the  justice,  and  summoning  all  the  witnesses 
who  heard  the  sounds  and  knew  of  the  search  for  the 
body,  I  was  ready  at  the  hour  for  the  proofs  to  be  per- 
fected. Quite  a  little  assemblage  convened  at  the  mag- 
istrate's office  to  hear  the  news  of  the  tragedy,  for  a 
stranger  in  a  village  bent  on  an  errand  of  such  interest 
created  no  little  excitement. 

"The  story  of  Waterman  was  short  and  sullen.  He 
had  not  worked  that  day,  and  at  about  eight  in  the 
evening  had  taken  his  wife  in  a  row-boat  for  a  ride.  They 
passed  up  some  five  times,  and  floated  down  with  the 
current  till  a  little  after  nine,  when  the  boat  struck  a  log 
in  an  eddy  and  upset  both  in  the  water.  He  had  swam 
to  the  shore,  some  four  rbds  to  the  right,  and,  hearing 
the  noise,  one  of  the  neighbors  called  to  know  what  was 
the  matter,  when  he  told  him  his  wife  had  fallen  over- 
board. The  man  said,  'Where  is  she  ?'  Waterman  replied, 
'It's  no  use  to  look  for  her  now ;  its  dark,  and  the  river 
is  very  high ;  it  will  go  down  in  the  morning.' 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  "J I 

"'Is  that  all,  Mr.  Waterman?'  I  asked,  as  he  con- 
cluded. 

"  'Yes,  that's  all  I  remember.' 

"  'You  say  you  left  home  at  eight  in  the  evening?' 

"  "Yes.' 

"  "Did  you  know  that  the  river  was  high,  and  were 
you  not  afraid  of  it?' 

"  'Oh,  no;  I  am  not  afraid  of  water.' 

"  A  good  swimmer,  are  you?' 

"  'Yes.' 

"  "How  far  can  you  swim?' 

•   A  half-mile.' 

"  'Can  you  dive  without  strangling?' 

*'  'Oh,  yes,  five  times  in  succession.' 

"  'And  you  went  up  and  down  about  an  hour  and  a 
half,  altogether?' 

"  'Yes.' 

"  And  the  eddy  is  very  near  to  the  bank  on  the  left, 
is  it  not?' 

"  'Yes,  about  twenty  feet  off,  I  should  think.' 

"  'And  where  you  landed  was  some  four  rods  away  ?' 

"  'Yes,  near  that.' 

"  'You  started  directly  for  the  shore  when  you  fell  in, 
did  you  not?' 

"  'How  long  did  you  stand  in  one  place  on  the  shore 
beforeMr. came  along?' 

"  'About  fifteen  minutes.' 

"  'Your  wife  fell  out  last,  did  she?' 

'  'Xo,  I  fell  out  last,  when  the  boat  tipped  over.' 

"'Did  your  wife  call  for  help?' 

"  'Yes.' 

"  'And  you  stood  on  the  bank  and  looked  on  ?' 

"  'Xo,  I  couldn't  see  much.' 


72  HIS    FIRST    CASE. 

"  'Could  you  see  when  you  found  the  boat — what  was 
in  the  bottom?' 

"  'Yes,  a  heel  of  a  slipper  was  in  the  bottom.' 

"  'Were  the  oars  shipped  in  their  places?' 

"  'Yes,  I  think  they  were.' 

"  'And  you  went  directly  home  from  there  ?' 

"'Yes/ 

"  'And  rose  early  next  morning?' 

"  'No,  not  till  half-past  seven.' 

"  'How  long  had  you  been  married  ?' 

"  'About  three  months.' 

"  'How  much  insurance  did  you  have  ?' 

"  'Seven  thousand  dollars.' 

"  'All  in  one  company?' 

"  'Yes.' 

"  'And  you  are  a  good  swimmer,  and  heard  your  wife 
beg,  for  God's  sake,  to  save  her,  and  yet  you  left  her  to 
die,  and  left  her  in  the  water  without  alarming  the  vil- 
lage, and  went  home  and  slept  till  seven  and  after;  and 
this  is  all  you  have  to  say  in  proof  of  your  claim  to  the 
insurance  ?' 

"  'No,  I  have  got  the  papers,'  handing  out  the  policies. 

"  'That  will  do ;  stand  down.' 

"The  balance  of  the  story  is  short.  Witnesses  were 
sworn  to  show  that  none  too  good  a  feeling  existed  be- 
tween the  newly-married  pair.  Evidence  conclusive  was 
shown  of  the  boat's  never  having  been  tipped  over  at  all. 
The  heel  of  the  slipper,  wrenched  off,  denoted  foul  play. 
The  struggle  and  screams  were  evidence  of  more  than 
collision  with  a  saw-log.  The  strong  man  had  deserted 
a  drowning  woman,  only  when  she  was  dead. 

"That  was  the  belief  all  over  the  court-room;  else, 
why  did  he  sleep  like  a  log  when  his  wife  was  lest  in  the 
water?     Why  stand  like  a  brute  and  hear  no  appeal  to 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  73 

rescue — he,  the  swimmer,  the  diver,  the  mill-hand  whose 
life  for  years  had  made  him  accustomed  to  water! 
Would  a  man  treat  a  dog  in  this  way? 

"This  was  a  kind  of  speech  that  cropped  out  unawares. 
I  was  boiling-  over  with  revenge.  But  the  justice  looked 
wise  as  he  said:  'The  Corpus  Delicti  has  not  been  full 
enough  for  a  warrant  for  murder.  We  must  find  the 
body.' 

"Before  we  separated,  each  witness  had  signed  the 
testimony,  which  I  rolled  up  carefully  and  started  for  the 
■city. 

"I  had  killed  the  squirrel;  my  object  was  to  defeat  the 
payment  of  the  insurance.  It  was  defeated.  But  the 
little  speech  was  too  warm  for  the  furtherance  of  justice. 
Waterman  departed,  where,  I  know  not.  The  body  of 
his  wife  was  found,  ten  days  later,  eight  or  nine  miles 
below,  with  marks  of  violence  upon  it.  The  slipper  heel 
fitted  exactly.  And  now,  as  I  look  back  on  my  first  case, 
I  can  see  with  sorrow  how  I  'killed  the  squirrel,'  but 
frightened  away  the  larger  game. 

"The  result  of  victory  brought  business  and  courage, 
in  the  sense  of  the  Indians'  theory  that  the  spirit  of  every 
enemy  slain  in  battle  enters  into  our  spirit,  to  make  us 
stronger  Indians,  while  defeat  takes  the  spirit  all  out  of 
the  defeated." 


74  TO    PREPARE    A    SPEECH. 

CHAPTER   IV. 

To  Speak  in  Public ;  How  to  Prepare ; 
To  Find  Facts ;  Things  to  Say ;  Material ; 
Variety ;  Right  Start ;  Saved  by  a  Song. 

TO  PREPARE  A  SPEECH. 

Beecher  used  about  ten  notes.  One  would  be  a  couple 
of  lines,  another  a  small  picture  of  a  bush  or  flower,  still 
another  a  quarter  or  half-page,  coarsely  written,  on  note 
paper.  From  this  coarse  writing  I  learned  that  8  to  14 
notes  closely  written  on  two  No.  6  envelopes,  thus :  Value 
of  Man;  Made  in  the  Procession;  Before  '63;  Earth  into- 
Money;  Fitness;  Rush  to  Banks;  No  Chance?  Trolley 
and  Mobile ;  Power  to  Please;  Heart  in  His  Hand;  An- 
drciv-Douglas;  Fifty  Years. 

In  short,  each  envelope  will  hold  five  coarse  heads  or 
topics,  and,  if  numbered  and  heavily  written,  they  can 
be  committed  in  an  hour  with  ease,  and  words  framed 
for  the  argument,  or  illustrations,  as  you  rise  and  proceed, 
and  such  words  will  be  far  more  certain  and  fit  and  be 
appropriate  than  committed  sentences.  That  will  leave 
your  thoughts  and  eyes  free  to  use,  as  the  envelope 
should  be  kept  out  of  vieiv  in  the  side  pocket. 

The  President  uses  typewritten  matter — the  worst  pos- 
sible preparation,  as  it  is  unsteady  to  hold,  "wobbly"  to- 
read  from  and  handle.  The  late  President  McKinley 
held  stiff  sheets  of  paper  in  his  left  hand,  as  carefully 
written  as  a  party  resolution,  giving  every  word  its  full 
meaning,  as  firmly  delivered.  Carl  Shurtz  read  from 
pencil  copy,  about  suited  to  printers'  typesetting,  but 
gracefully  handled.  Gladstone  read  his  best  thoughts 
from  slips  of  note  paper,  and  enlarged  on  the  theme 
orally. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  75 

Lawyers  are  too  sensible  to  load  themselves  with- 
bulky  notes,  and  usually  rely  on  either  elaborated  law- 
briefs  and  off-hand  remarks ;  but  on  the  Fourth  of  July 
and  state  occasions,  they  use  great  care  in  preparing 
facts  before  delivery.  This  preparing  means  thinking 
out  in  advance — mental  rehearsing — reading  up  and  fit- 
ting in  strong  situations,  with  ample  illustrations  and" 
telling  climaxes. 

All  are  not  like  Depew,  filled  with  spicy  stories,  aptly 
applied  as  windows  to  the  argument;  nor  like  the  late 
Colonel  Tngersoll,  so  full  of  words  that  they  poured  forth 
as  from  a  modern  self-playing  instrument — one  who 
needed  little  time  to  prepare.  Yet,  in  his  lectures  on 
Shakespeare  and  Lincoln,  he  read  every  word  from 
printed  slips,  and  seemed  to  have  no  committed  passages. 
Only  a  man  of  his  fame  as  an  orator  could  hold  a  vast 
audience  by  such  speaking. 

Dolliver,  Bailey  and  Beveredge  commit  mainly  and 
rely  on  their  lines  for  delivery  in  all  their  public  ad- 
dresses. But,  as  no  one  can  commit  for  all  occasions, 
not  having  time  or  notice,  it  is  not  a  safe  method  for 
every-day  preparedness. 

Here  is  the  request: 

The  G.  A.  R.  Hall  is  to  be  dedicated  in  Clyde  on  the 
l8th,  and  this  is  the  ioth.  That  is  short  notice.  And  old 
soldiers  are  great  listeners ;  travel,  hardship  and  intense 
living  has  made  them  alert  and  anxious.  They  are  from 
the  country  villages,  the  farms  and  the  factories;  they 
are  hungry  for  good  things  in  their  line.  They  will  drink 
coffee  from  tin  cups,  and  eat  heartily  of  beans  and  warm 
biscuit.  But  they  will  note  and  remember  every  good" 
thing  that  is  said  to  them  which  treats  of  a  soldier's  past, 
his  present  and  his  future. 

How  shall  we  reach  them,  please  and  convince  them? 


76  THE    RIGHT    THING. 

Attract — Inform — Impress — Begin  calm,  grow  warm, 
end  in  a  storm !    That  is  the  key  to  the  address. 

The  start. 

The  Germans  have  a  beautiful  custom  in  honor  of  those 
who  fall  upon  the  battlefield.  They  have  a  legend  to 
match,  that  just  before  every  battle  two  angels  pass  over 
the  camp  while  the  soldiers  are  fast  asleep,  and  touch 
with  their  hands  gently  all  who  are  to  fall  on  the  morrow 
— marking  them  for  a  double  honor ;  first  that  they  pass 
into  a  painless  rest  above  the  sun,  among  the  stars,  and 
next  that  their  names  become  immortal  in  honor  and 
remembrance  by  their  country. 

Now  go  on  and  frame  your  address. 

Say,  on  the  battles  of  '63 : 

A  Soldier's  Reward : — Warm  their  hearts  and  renew 
their  love  of  country.  Stir  the  audience  with  thrills  of 
heroic  deeds,   like  the   storming  of   Lookout   Mountain. 

THE  RIGHT  THING. 

Just  what  to  say  and  the  right  thing  to  say  on  given 
occasions  is  a  puzzle.  It  needs  the  inspiration  of  each 
separate  occasion,  time,  place  and  surroundings.  It  is 
not  expected  to  foretell  occasions.  It  is  enough  to  report 
apt  things  done  at  other  times,  which  form  a  parallel. 

When  President  Roosevelt  visited  Detroit,  scon  after 
he  had  taken  the  oath  of  office,  he  was  met  by  a  large 
■delegation  at  the  train,  early  in  the  morning.  The  silence 
was  vocal — everyone  seemed  hushed  by  the  event.  A 
short  introduction  and  a  hearty  hand-grasp  followed, 
but  the  scene  was  far  more  impressive  than  cheering. 
Walking  on  rapidly  and  leading  the  committee,  the  stren- 
uous man  reached  the  cab  of  the  panting  engine,  where, 
out  of  the   window,   leaned  both   fireman   and   engineer 


ART     OF    ADVOCATES.  TJ 

with  faces  covered  by  dust  and  soot  and  hands  grimy 
with  coal  handling.  But  to  the  President  they  were  men ! 
They  had  hauled  him  safely  over  the  Baltimore  &  Ohio 
by  day  and  night  time,  all  the  way  from  Washington,  and 
he  realized  the  situation.  Quickly  reaching  up  his  hand 
to  the  fireman  and  engineer  in  turn,  he  shook  hands 
heartily,  saying:  "Well  done!   Well  done!    Good  boys!" 

The  applause  was  most  hearty.  The  words  touched 
hundreds  and  no  incident  during  his  visit  compared  with 
the  hand-shake  and  the  "Well  done !"  spoken. 

In  an  introduction  by  Senator  Palmer  of  a  former 
Governor  at  a  club  banquet,  the  Senator  said:  "We  are 
about  to  hear  words  of  wisdom  from  a  farmer.  I  am  a 
farmer  myself,  but  the  difference  between  Governor  Luce 
and  myself  is  that  Governor  Luce  makes  his  farm  pay, 
and  my  farm  makes  me  pay. 

It  was  a  rather  crabbed  lawyer  who  questioned  a 
woman  witness  this  way: 

"State  your  name,  age  and  residence,  please." 

"Bertha  Frye,  16  Butternut  street." 

"But  your  age,  Madam?" 

(Witness  did  not  appear  to  hear  the  question,  and 
things  grew  silent,  when  the  Court  said : 

"He  asked  your  age,  Madam." 

"Oh,  my  age !     Twenty-eight." 

The  judge,  having  a  memory  of  her  presence  in  court 
before,  again  said : 

"Were  you  not  here  some  ten  years  ago,  and  did  you 
not  then  give  your  age  as  28?" 

And  quick  came  the  answer: 

"Very  likely  I  did,  your  Honor,  and  if  I  did  I'll  stick 
to  it.  I  am  not  one  who  says  one  thing  today  and  an- 
other tomorrow !    When  I  sav  a  thing:  I  stick  to  it." 


78  aREPAREDNESS. 

This  ended  the  impertinence.  There  is  no  sense  or 
reason  for  such  questions ;  hut  much  wit  in  such  answers. 

It  was  at  a  San  Francisco  banquet,  where  men  had  told 
with  great  eloquence  of  the  big  trees,  tall  mountains  and 
balmy  climate  of  California,  when  Governor  Luce  spoke 
to  the  toast,  "My  Michigan."     He  said: 

"The  gentlemen  may  expand  on  the  beauties  of  your 
•climate.  It  is  excellent.  Of  your  mighty  cedars  and 
rugged  mountains,  they  are  magnificent.  They  please 
the  eye  and  intoxicate  the  senses.  But,  better  than  all  of 
these,  by  far  grander  and  more  beautiful  than  these  to 
me.  is  the  fact  that  the  Michigan  boys  can  look  down 
■deep  into  the  dancing  bright  eyes  of  Michcigan  girls,  by 
the  side  of  which  scenes  and  mountains  grow  pale  and 
-quickly  fade  from  memory." 

(And  he  won  applause.) 

Almost  any  ingenious  speaker  will  find  his  fit  place  to 
apply  a  story,  legend  or  incident,  and  almost  all  speakers 
are  hungry  to  find  things  worth  telling.  As  the  teacher 
told  the  student,  who  thought  the  Proverbs  weie  not  so 
very  wise  or  wonderful:  "Probably  not,  young  man,  but 
bring  me  four  or  five  in  the  morning  to  match  up  with 
them !     Let  us  hear  from  your  genius." 

But  he  brought  none. 

PREPAREDNESS. 

Invitations  like  the  following  come  often  to  young 
lawyers — just  as  often  as  his  fitness  will  warrant  and 
justify  expectations: 

"By  a  decided  vote  of  our  graduating  class,  I  am  re- 
quested to  write  you  to  give  us  a  forty-minute  address,  on 
any  appropriate  theme  you  may  select,  at  our  Commence- 
ment Exercises  on  the  14th  instant.    We  will  have  a  large 


ART     OF    ADVOCATES.  79 

attendance,  some  1,200,  and  about  100  graduates.     An 
early  acceptance  will  be  greatly  appreciated. 
Sincerely, 

President  of  the  Class. 

The  form  may  vary  to  match  Decoration  Day,  Lin- 
coln's Birthday,  Fourth  of  July  exercises,  in  a  large 
variety  of  medical,  legal,  social  lodges,  etc. — general 
demands  on  a  speaker's  time  and  skill  and  ability.  It  is 
the  test  thrown  upon  him — a  test  of  his  skill,  aptness  and 
preparedness  to  fill  the  opportunity. 

In  very  many  instances  such  an  opportunity  will  be  the 
start  in  life,  the  Manilla  battle  of  fame  to  a  young  lawyer, 
for  a  decided  hit,  a  bright  address,  a  telling  speech,  is 
often  the  making  of  a  man  or  lawyer.  It  made  Inger- 
soll's  address  for  Blaine  immortal,  and  Garfield's  address 
for  another  made  Garfield  President!  While  Bryan's 
""Cross  of  Gold"  speech  was  not  a  creation  in  oratory, 
but  a  strong  argument  which  he  had  been  making  after 
a  thorough  preparedness  in  beautiful  diction,  for  a  couple 
of  years  previous  "The  Crown  of  Thorns  and  Cross 
of  Gold"  were  inspired  phrases,  born  of  the  oc- 
casion.. "They  shall  not  press  down  a  crozvn  of  thorns 
upon  the  brow  of  labor;  they  shall  not  crucify  the  laborer 
on  a  Cross  of  Gold,"  was  a  striking  climax,  and  Bryan, 
through  it,  may  even  outlive  his  powerful  party. 

By  his  "Lost  Arts"  lecture  Wendell  Phillips  lives  in 
history.  By  his  rebuke  of  Warren  Hastings.  Burke  was 
made  immortal.  In  reply  to  Haynes,  Webster  reached 
his  climax,  and  Lincoln  won  fame  by  his  Cooper  Institute 
address.  So  that  history  is  full  of  climaxes  in  speeches, 
quite  as  lasting  as  Henry's  Liberty  or  Death  argument, 
or  Douglas  on  Popular  Sovereignty.  And  there  is  no 
longer  room  for  saying  that  all  these  addresses  breathe 
of  preparedness  in  the  highest. 


80  SAVED    BY    A    SONG. 

HOW    IS    IT? 

Suppose,  then,  it  be  a  conceded  fact  that  accidents  in 
addresses  to  a  jury,  convention,  banquet,  or  any  occasion 
of  moment.     How  is  it  done?  is  the  vital  question. 

Webster  carried  incidents  fifteen  years  before  using; 
others  were  full  and  well-rounded  in  readiness,  so  one 
should  ask : 

What  will  be  the  central  thought  or  paramount  object 
of  the  meeting,  the  banquet,  the  Decoration  Day,  or  the 
Commencement  ? 

Finding  this,  he  may  fill  himself  with  some  apt  and 
appropriate  arguments,  examples  and  illustrations — quite 
a  few  are  now  furnished ;  experience  will  suggest  others. 
The  first  step,  the  start  in  the  struggle,  is  a  well-stored 
mind.  It  will  suggest  scores  of  others.  Every  speaker, 
lawyer  or  orator  is  presumed  to  be  supplied  with  a  score 
or  so  of  apt  stories,  and  few  speeches  will  please  without 
the  happy  surprises,  which  add  cornice  to  the  argument 
and  beauty  of  illustrations.  Let  this  never  be  too  early. 
The  new  graduate  should  start  in  promptly  by  saving 
wise  and  good  thoughts  as  a  banker  saves  money. 

SAVED  BY  A  SONG. 

One  Saturday  afternoon,  in  the  summer  of  '98,  a  young 
Kentucky  minister,  with  his  wife  and  children,  aged  nine 
and  seven  years,  while  stopping  for  a  brief  season  at  St. 
Clair  Flats — a  little  Venice  settlement  some  thirty  miles 
above  Detroit — engaged  a  row-boat  for  a  short  row  along 
the  shallows  of  the  Flats.  They  had  gone  less  than  a 
mile  from  the  landing  when  the  minister,  in  an  attempt 
to  shift  his  position,  upset  the  little  boat,  and  all  four  fell 
in  the  water,  deep  enough  to  drown  all  but  the  father,  and 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  8r 

far  enough  from  shore  to  be  completely  out  of  hearing. 

To  add  to  the  dilemma,  the  boat  remained  capsized 
with  both  children  under  it,  and  the  wife,  not  at  all  strong, 
with  only  one  swimmer  in  the  family. 

With  one  arm  holding  the  mother  from  sinking,  with 
the  other  lifting  the  litle  girl  on  the  overturned  boat,  the 
father  saw  no  traces  of  the  little  son,  who  soon  turned 
up  playing  a  lively  tune  with  his  hands,  as  he  paddled 
hard  to  keep  his  head  above  water. 

The  little  fellow  was  lifted  into  the  boat,  and  repeated 
calls  were  made  for  help,  but  no  answer.  At  each  attempt 
to  right  the  boat,  a  child  would  fall  off,  and  no  progress 
could  be  made  without  turning  all  loose  in  the  water, 
which  attempt  was  soon  abandoned. 

Now,  the  weakness  of  the  wife  began  to  tell  on  her,  and 
the  bravery  of  the  little  boy  came  to  the  relief.  "Let  me 
go,  and  save  the  children,"  said  the  wife  in  a  whisper. 
"Let  me  go,  and  save  mamma,"  said  the  brave  little  boy 
on  the  inverted  boat. 

"Is  this  the  day  we  all  have  to  die,  papa?"  said  the 
little  girl.  "No,  no,  darling !"  said  the  brave  man,  firmly. 
"Some  one  will  rescue  us;  the  Lord  will  provide  a 
rescue."  "Then  let  us  sing  to  Him,"  said  the  little  son — 
and  he  started  out : 

"Jesus,  lover  of  my  soul, 
Let  me  to  Thy  bosom  fly." 

The  words  were  scarcely  uttered  when  the  wind  grew 
stronger,  showing  a  storm  near  by.  Calling  loud  and 
louder,  the  words  of  the  minister  rang  Out  over  the  angry 
waters,  and  a  sound  of  distant  voices  seemed  to  answer. 
The  minister  pushed  and  pulled  the  boat  into  a  clump  of 
rushes,  and  gaining  a  foothold,  righted  it,  and  with  great 
effort  placed  the  wife  and  children  inside;  but    it    had 


82  THE    RIGHT   START. 

dipped  too  much  water  to  hold  a  larger  load,  and  the 
oars  were  nowhere  to  be  found. 

Not  daring  to  bid  his  family  good-bye  and  frighten 
them,  the  minister  hastily  resolved  that  he  would  swim 
to  the  landing — a  mile  or  more  distant — while  they  clung 
to  the  boat  and  kept  it  from  drifting,  by  holding  fast  to 
the  willows  that  grew  up  there  in  the  water  in  that  region. 

Again  the  little  voices  rang  our  in  familiar  words  of  the 
favorite  hymn 

"Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee, 
Nearer  to  Thee." 

As  the  father  battled  bravely  and  desperately  with  the 
waves  and  called  for  aid,  his  only  cheer  was,  "Nearer, 
my  God,  to  Thee,"  when  suddenly  two  fishermen,  passing, 
inquired  what  was  the  matter? 

'"Throw  me  a  board,  an  oar,  any  little  bearing,  and 
hasten  to  the  relief  of  my  family  in  peril,"  said  the  min- 
ister, pointing  the  direction  and  swimming  onward.  But 
he  was  taken  in  with  the  fishermen,  and  all  were  safely 
rescued,  after  being  nearly  three  hours  in  the  water,  in 
the  greatest  danger  of  death  by  drowning. 

A  more  devoted  little  group  could  scarcely  be  found 
outside  of  Eden.  The  following  Sabbath  the  rescue  story 
was  told  from  the  pulpit  and  touched  hundreds  in  the 
audience  to  tears. 

THE  RIGHT  START. 

A  holiday  season  is  a  time  to  take  an  invoice — to  take 
stock,  and  note  the  progress  made  in  any  business,  and 
it  should  be  a  season  for  the  schools  and  churches,  in- 
cluding general  Sunday  School  and  mission  work. 

Strange  as  it  may  sound,  it  is  certainly  true  that  all  of 
the  larger  banks,  stores,  factories,  shops,  schools,  colleges, 


ART    OF-'    ADVOCATES.  83 

and  even  hospitals,  are  under  the  direction  and  control  of 
Christian  people.  It  is  not  a  question  of  creed  or  religion, 
or  of  any  legal  rules,  but  it  is  somehow  a  fact  that  confi- 
dence goes  with  people  who  respect  the  Great  Author  of 
the  Universe,  and  conform  to  Christian  custons ;  that 
bankers,  managers  and  rulers  of  commerce  are  educated 
men,  and  that  their  education  in  a  sense  is  of  a  moral, 
and  often  a  religious,  training. 

The  Criminal  Classes. 

From  the  other  side  is  seen  the  picture  that  wicked 
murders,  vile  and  cruel  crimes,  are  oftenest  chargeable 
to  ignorant,  half-educated,  brutal  parentage,  and  un- 
trained children.  From  ten  years'  Court  experience,  and 
a  score  of  years  in  earlier  practice,  I  have  learned  that 
boys  who  go  wrong  and  become  criminals  start  in  early 
— mainly  before  the  age  of  22  years. 

The  County  Agent  makes  inquiry  into  complaints,  and 
after  the  police  justice  finds  a  boy  guilty,  the  case  is 
examined  by  the  probate  judge  or  circuit  judge,  and  this 
is  the  record,  sworn  to  in  Police  Court,  mainly  by  the 
mother : 

"This  boy  runs  away  from  home,  smokes,  swears, 
refuses  to  mind,  steals  little  things,  reads  dime  novels ;  I 
can't  control  him. 

It  varies  a  little  in  other  cases — so  that  the  prisons  and 
reform  schools  are  filled  with  children  badly  trained. 
The  conclusion  is  clear — that,  as  their  training  is,  so  will 
they  be  through  life. 

So  that  the  evolution  of  our  day  is:  Railroads  are 
exacting  of  engineers,  firemen,  brakemen  and  switchmen, 
that  they  keep  sober.  In  this  they  teach  practical  temp- 
perance — more  than  by  temperance  lectures.  Even  banks, 


84  THE    RIGHT    START. 

stores  and  positions  of  trust  are  bonding  their  help  to 
insure  good  men  of  upright  habits — and  character  is 
capital  in  the  age  in  which  we  live.  Even  saloon  men 
answer  on  the  jury  that  they  refuse  to  employ  a  drunk- 
ard in  their  places  of  business.  I  know  saloon  men  who 
would  turn  the  hose  on  a  man  who  would  insist  on 
drinking  after  he  was  drunk.  I  know  one  who  sent  his 
son  to  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  training 
school,  and  the  son  now  fills  a  high  position.  There  are 
men  of  character  who  once  sold  beverages. 

So  that  we  should  not  be  too  exclusive  in  training 
and  saving  boys  from  danger ;  but,  in  the  Steps  of  that 
Christ  whose  resurrection  you  celebrate,  go  out  into 
the  by-places  and  save  the  boys  not  well  brought  up ; 
save  the  young  girls  in  the  factories ;  save  the  men  almost 
without  hope,  in  the  hospitals,  and  say  that  the  schools 
of  training  extend  to  all  people.  And  then  they  may 
ask — what  have  the  churches  done  ?  And  you  may  say : 
"Starting  like  a  wave  of  light  in  New  England,  they 
have  moved  westward,  crossing  the  rivers,  climbing  the 
mountains,  spanning  the  prairies,  building  schools,  fac- 
tories, banks  and  business  houses,  saving  property,  and 
saving  boys  and  girls,  planting  hope  in  their  hearts  and 
cheer  in  their  homes,  and  growing  broader  and  more 
liberal  they  shall  speed  onward  till,  with  all  classes, 
morality  and  religion  shall  influence  our  people  and 
make  this  a  model  of  all  nations." 

Not  all  of  the  good  people  are  found  in  the  schools 
and  the  churches,  it  is  true,  but  the  influence  of  those 
who  respect  such  institutions  has  made  us  a  powerful 
people,  in  peace,  in  war,  in  intelligence  and  in  industry. 
The  church  should  be  a  moral  business  college,  to  prove 
and  promote  young  people,  and  you  can  do  no  better 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  85 

■work  than  to  single  out  a  boy  each  year  and  help  to  save 
and  promote  his  character. 

THE  GENIUS  OE  PLEASURE. 

Goldsmith  tells  us  that  Fernanz,  'way  back  in  the 
distant  past,  was  known  as  the  GENIUS  of  PLEAS- 
URE, and  was  believed  to  control  all  the  elements  that 
ministered  to  the  senses.  The  groves,  the  flowers,  the 
fountain,  the  stars,  and  the  heavenly  bodies  were  con- 
trolled by  his  genius,  and,  seeing  their  effect  upon  man- 
kind, he  conceived  the  plan  to  improve  men's  condition 
by  culture.  He  selected  a  modest  young  boy,  still  unable 
to  talk,  whom  he  caused  to  be  trained  by  twelve  philoso- 
phers in  art,  science,  physical  culture,  and  the  ways  of 
wisdom  and  justice — never  allowing  him  to  mingle  with 
the  opposite  sex  during  his  training. 

He  then  selected  a  young  girl  of  rare  beauty,  and  had 
"her  trained  by  twelve  maidens  in  the  ways  of  life,  with 
all  the  accomplishments  of  womanhood — keeping  her  in 
parks  and  gardens  with  pure  human  beings,  entirely  out 
•of  sight  of  men  and  boys,  until  the  age  of  sixteen. 

It  happened  one  day  in  the  garden,  by  chance,  in 
passing  a  pool  of  clear  water  she  saw  reflected  in  the 
pool  an  image.  She  waved  her  hand,  smiled,  shook  her 
head,  and  seeing  that  ia  answered  her  signals,  she  then 
exclaimed:  "Why  am  I  created  beautiful?"  For  she 
compared  the  image  with  herself,  and  readily  determined 
that  it  was  her  own  figure  in  the  water. 

'.'The  flowers  are  beautiful,  that  I  may  inhale  their  per- 
fume ;  the  parks,  that  I  may  admire  their  beauty ;  the 
trees,  to  sit  beneath  their  shade ;  the  moon  and  stars,  to 
light  my  pathway  by  night,  the  sun  by  day ;  the  beautiful 
fountains,  to  bathe  therein ;  but,  oh,  why  am  I  so  strangely 


86  SIX     WISHES. 

made,  without  some  purpose  and  object?"    She  grew  sad 
and  fell  to  thinking  on  a  mossy  bed  beside  a  tree. 

In  her  reverie  she  fell  asleep  and  dreamed  sweet  dreams 
of  a  being  never  seen  before,  yet  greatly  admired  in  her 
vision.  This  being  seemed  to  elude  her  touch,  and  kept 
just  barely  out  of  reach,  until  finally  she  awoke,  when, 
seeing  the  trained  young  man  before  her.  she  shaded 
her  eyes  with  her  hand  and  said :  ''Oh,  it  ic  my  dream  f 
It  is  my  dream!  Why  did  T  awake?  Why  did  T  not 
dream  on?"  And  she  turned  to  go  away  in  sorrow. 
Then  came  the  young  man  who  had  been  trained  from 
his  youth  up,  and  taught  in  all  the  arts  and  languages 
of  refinement ;  and  yet  in  this  emergency  he  had  no  words- 
to  express  his  meaning,  for  deep  emotion  is  not  given 
to  easy  saying. 

As  they  approached  each  other  he  was  about  to  lay 
his  hand  upon  her  hair  to  soothe  her,  when  Fernanz, 
concealed  near-by,  was  heard  to  say :  "Stay,  young 
man,  withhold  your  hand ;  touch  her  not  until  you  hear 
this  great  lesson.  It  is  not  her  beauty,  sir,  nor  your 
manhood,  that  you  each  admire  in  the  other  all  at  once, 
but  it  is  the  training  of  your  Ik'cs  all  the  way  up,  that 
has  taught  you  the  meaning  of  beauty  and  uprightness, 
and  made  you  understand  each  other.  Now,  join  hands 
and  go  through  the  journey  of  life  together,  and  so  act 
and  live  that  the  whole  world  may  know  and  admire  the 
beauty  and  purity  of  womanhood,  the  strength  and  power 
of  upright  manhood." 

SIX  WISHES. 

In  the  days  of  Charlemange,  King  of  France  and 
Emperor  of  the  West,  about  the  year  768  was  a  bright 
period  in  history.     He  was  a  wise  ruler,  who  believed 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  87 

the  people  should  be  taught  habits  of  industry  and  self- 
support.  He  abolished  poverty  three  years.  He  even 
went  so  far  as  to  make  an  example  by  founding  acad- 
emies all  over  the  kingdom,  and  to  each  of  the  academies 
he  would  send  one  of  his  children,  as  a  mark  of  respect 
for  learning.  Thus  the  King's  children  were  teachers 
in  his  academies.  Each  school  he  would  visit  in  turn 
and  hold  exhibitions. 

On  the  occasion  of  the  birthday  of  'he  Princess 
(Ogier)  a  prize  was  to  be  given  to  the  one  who  could 
express  the  finest  charm  or  wish  over  the  year-old  prince 
in  the  cradle.  They  had  assembled  with  the  six  young 
maidens  to  make  the  wishes,  and  a  vast  audience  to 
listen  and  look  on.  The  first  one,  amidst  breathless 
silence,  picked  up  the  little  fellow  and  held  him  in  her 
hands,  saying:  "What  can  I  wish  thee,  Oh,  fair  young 
Prince,  but  courage  to  overcome  every  battle  in  life," 
and  she  passed  him  to  the  next,  and  the  next  one  said: 
"What  can  I  wish  thee?  I  would  wish  thee,  Oh,  fair 
young  Prince,  abundant  opportunity  for  thy  courage" 
and  she  passed  him  to  the  next,  who  said :  "And  I 
would  wish  thee,  fair  young  Prince,  the  pozver  never  to 
be  vanquished  in  life's  battles."  And  the  next  said:  "I 
would  wish  thee  the  power  to  please  all  people;"  and  the 
next  said:  "I  would  wish  thee  and  give  thee,  Oh,  fair 
young  Prince,  the  power  to  return  pleasure  to  all  people." 
And  the  last  and  youngest  took  the  little  fellow  closely 
in  her  arms  and  said :  "What  can  I  wish  thee,  what  can 
I  give  thee,  Oh,  fair  young  Prince,  that  will  brighten 
and  better  thy  whole  life  more  than  anything  else? 
What  can  I  wish  thee,  that  hath  not  already  been  be- 
stowed upon  thee?  I  would  wish  thee  long  life  and 
character,  that  thou  may'st  grow  strong  and  tall  and 
wise  and  good,  and  come  often  and  visit  me  in  my  home." 


88  THE    KIND   KING. 

And  the  crowd  applauded,  and  the  prize  was  given  to 
the  young  girl  who  had  wished  him  long  life  and  wisdom 
and  power  and  strength  of  character. 

THE   KIND   KING. 
Note— 

i.  The  central  purpose  of  a  legend  like  this  is  the 
picture  of  kindness  which  it  describes.  As  one  has  well 
said :  "Legends  are  the  cornice,  drapery  and  ornaments 
of  literature,"  so  they  are  the  windows  of  argument. 
They  convince  and  impress  with  a  lasting  likeness  of  the 
event  itself,  and  no  better  opening  of  a  literary  address 
can  be  named  than  some  rare  gem  that  engraves  its  own 
image  on  the  mind  of  a  hearer. 

The  kind  King  first  named  in  the  legend  had  won 
the  love  and  affection  of  his  people.  They  did  not  think 
they  could  find  one  to  fill  his  place.  No  wonder  they 
searched  far  and  wide  to  find  one  as  good  and  kind  and 
lovable  as  he  had  been.    His  chief  virtue  was  his  kindness. 

2.  It  is  of  the  new  King  that  the  legend  speaks  the 
most.  This  "little  man  in  furs"  must  have  been  a  stu- 
dent, as  he  knew  how  to  focus  the  sunlight  in  a  glass 
and  light  the  punk  to  build  a  fire — punk  being  a  dry 
substance  that  grows  on  wood.  It  is  soft,  like  velvet. 
He  was  thoughtful,  as  he  made  driking  fountains  for 
the  animals.  He  was  unselfish,  as  he  shared  his  cave 
with  the  searchers  for  the  King.  He  was  dressed  in 
furs,  but  they  were  suited  to  his  station ;  a  dress  to  match 
his  business,  for  he  must  have  been  a  hunter. 

3.  The  little  King  was  liberal,  and  made  no  charge 
for  bed  of  furs,  and  meal  of  meat,  but  he  exacted  a 
promise  of  the  men  to  continue  the  kindness  to  the  end 
of  time.  This  is  the  climax  of  his  life.  We  find  him 
kind   to   men   and   animals,    fearless   of   danger,    liberal, 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  89 

-unselfish,  and  capable  of  gaining  the  good-will  of  others. 
These  were  the  means  of  his  being  chosen  for  a  King  by 
the  people  who  wanted  the  best  of  Kings. 

4.  His  words  are  touching,  when  he  refuses  money  or 
payment  for  kindness.  He  seems  to  draw  back,  in  fear 
of  taking  money,  and  says:  "Oh,  sirs,  there  is  no  pay- 
ment for  kindness,  save  in  kindness  to  somebody  else." 
Then  he  urges  them  to  continue  such  kindness  to  the  end 
of  time.  The  simple  telling  of  this  act  to  the  people  in 
the  valley  made  them  exclaim:  ''Make  him  our  King! 
Kindness  has  made  him  worthy  to  be  King." 

Text:  In  this  story  of  a  king  we  have  the  real  secrets 
•of  success,  namely,  the  power  to  please,  the  power  to 
win  in  life,  even  from  poverty.  His  case  is  the  only 
instance  of  one  raised  from  an  humble  cave  to  a  golden 
throne. 

Carlyle,  the  great  English  writer,  says:  "Success  in 
life,  in  any  calling,  depends  upon  the  number  of  people 
that  one  can  make  himself  agreeable  to,"  meaning,  if  a 
merchant,  the  pleasing  power  brings  customers ;  if  a 
lawyer,  it  brings  clients ;  if  a  doctor,  it  brings  patients ; 
if  a  minister,  it  fills  the  church. 

All  nations  agree  upon  the  rule  just  given  from  Car- 
lyle. The  Germans  say:  "Mid  der  hut  in  der  hand,  geht 
man  durch  die  ganse  land."  With  his  hat  in  his  hand, 
•or  with  politeness,  man  succeeds  in  any  land. 

If  you  look  around  among  business  men  and  women, 
singers,  actors,  teachers  and  lawyers,  you  will  see  how 
true  is  the  saying,  that  success  depends  upon  the  power 
to  please,  to  do  what  they  do  in  a  way  to  satisfy  others. 
And  one  resolution  should  be  made  by  every  student, 
namely,  "I  will  succeed;  I  will  do  it  honestly;  I  will  help 
others  in  trouble ;  I  will  be  unselfish." 


90  THE    KIND    KING. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Legends  ;  Stories ;  Passages  ;  Extracts ;  Starting  Matter  ;: 
Variety  of  Topics ;  How  to  Apply  Incidents. 

THE  KIND  KING. 

There  is  a  beautiful  legend  in  the  German  of  a  kind 
young  King  among  the  Huns,  who  was  so  loved  by  his 
people  that  the}  gave  him  a  golden  throne  and  a  silver 
crown.  That  soon  after  he  died  in  his  prime,  and  the 
people  said :  "We  will  have  no  other  King — none  can 
fill  his  place. 

Two  years  they  waited,  and  finally  they  longed  for  a 
King.  At  last  they  voted  to  select  a  King,  provided  one 
could  be  found  whom  the  elements  obeyed  and  the  ani- 
mals would  love. 

To  find  such  a  King  search  was  made  in  all  the  cities 
and  hamlets  'round  about,  but  without  avail.  Then  men 
in  pairs  were  sent  through  the  fields  and  woods,  but 
returned  without  a  King.  Then  at  last  they  searched 
in  the  mountains  till,  one  day,  two  searchers  for  the 
King  were  overtaken  by  a  dreadful  storm  of  wind  and 
hail  and  snow,  which  drove  them  for  shelter  into  a  cave 
away  up  the  mountain  side.  In  the  cave  'hey  found  a 
little  man  dressed  in  furs.  He  gave  them  generous  wel- 
come, saying:  "Come  in  and  wait  until  the  stcrm  goes- 
by."  He  gave  them  warm  bread  and  milk  to  eat,  and  a 
bed  of  furs  to  sleep  upon,  and  said :  "Rest  until  the 
storm  goes  by."  They  fell  asleep,  after  thanking  their 
Maker,  but  about  2  o'clock  in  the  night  were  awakened 
by  a  terrible  roar  and  noise  outside.  They  arose  on  their 
elbows  and  said :  "We  shall  be  killed — we  shall  be 
killed — this  is  a  robber's  cave !"     Then  the  little  man  in. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  91 

furs  came  out,  saying:  "What  is  this  I  hear?  What  is 
this  complaint?" 

"Hear  you  the  noise  outside?"  said  the  searchers  for 
a  King,  trembling  in  fear.     "Is  this  a  robber's  cave?" 

Going  to  the  cave  door  and  sliding  it,  the  little  man 
in  furs  exclaimed :  "Oh,  I  see  bears,  wolves,  tigers, 
lions,  wild  animals  out  in  the  storm ;  come  in — come  in 
out  of  the  storm — come,  you  lions,  come  in  and  wait  till 
the  storm  goes  by !"  Instantly  the  bears,  lions,  tigers 
and  wolves  hurried  in.  The  lions  licked  the  little  man's 
hands.  lie  stroked  the  tigers  on  the  back.  The  wolves 
huddled  around  like  little  lambs.  "Take  your  places  in 
the  corner  there,"  said  the  man  in  the  furs,  which  they 
did,  and  seemed  delighted  to  be  in  out  of  the  storm,  and 
all  slept  again  until  morning. 

In  the  morning  the  animals  wer?  let  out.  An  opening 
was  made  in  the  ceiling,  and  the  bright  rays  of  the  sun 
shone  in.  It  was  focused  in  a  glass,  and  the  fire  lighted 
from  a  piece  of  punk.  By  the  fire  a  meal  of  meat  was 
cooked.  The  men  were  treated  to  a  substantial  meal, 
and  then  shown  outside,  where  the  water  in  the  summer 
was  caught  in  a  fountain,  where  sheep  and  cattle  and 
animals  and  men  could  drink. 

The  searchers  for  a  King  were  about  to  go  They 
remembered  to  pay  their  bill,  "What  shall  we  pay  you 
for  your  kindness  and  entertainment  like  this?"  asked 
the  men.  The  little  man  straightened  up  and  said,  with 
great  force,  very  slowly:  "Pay — me — for — kindness? 
Oh,  sirs,  there  is  no  payment  for  kindness,  save  in  kind- 
ness to  somebody  else!  Go  your  way  over  the  world,  and 
when  you  find  people  in  distress,  so  deal  with  them  as- 
has  been  done  to  you  in  this  storm,  with  this  injunction, 
that  you  bid  them  all  continue  the  kindness  to  the  end 
of  time."' 


92  THE    MISER  S    HAND. 

The  little  man  bowed  and  returned  to  his  cave.  The 
searchers  for  a  King  returned  to  their  city  and  knew 
not  what  they  had  seen;  but  the  people,  always  wiser 
than  one  or  two,  on  hearing  the  story  threw  up  their 
hands,  exclaiming:  "Make  him  our  King!  Make  him 
•our  King.  Kindness  has  made  him  worthy  to  be  a 
King !" 

So  the>r  sent  the  men  once  more  up  the  steep  mountain 
side,  and  brought  back  the  little  man  in  furs,  placed  him 
upon  the  golden  throne,  put  upon  his  head  a  silver  crown 
in  honor  of  his  kindness. 

THE  MISER'S  HAND. 

The  high  value  of  excellence  in  art  (or  an  address  on 
a  kindred  subject)  could  scarcely  find  a  better  model 
than  is  presented  by  this  chaste  and  simple  likeness.  Told 
in  any  parlor  to  an  assemblage  of  refined  and  talented 
people,  it  will  be  full  of  that  power  to  please  quite  essen- 
tial at  such  gatherings. 

There  is  a  beautiful  legend  of  a  painting  in  Venice, 
-called  "The  Miser's  Hand."  By  the  story  of  the  painting 
a  very  talented  young  man  fell  in  love  with  a  beautiful 
daughter  of  an  old  miser.  The  love  was  mutual,  the 
day  set,  and  still  it  remained  to  break  the  new>  to  and 
gain  the  consent  of  the  miser. 

The  young  man  presented  his  case,  and  the  miser 
scorned  it.  "What!  You — a  pauper — would  marry  my 
daughter  ?  Xo !  No !  I  will  have  no  paupers  to  inherit 
my  patrimony — I  will  leave  no  entailment  of  paupers  to 
my   family !" 

The  young  people  were  greatly  distressed.  The  young 
girl  even  attempted  to  commit  suicide  by  leaping  from 
a  high  bridge  into  the  water.     She  was  rescued  by  an 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  93 

unknown  stranger  from  drowning,  and  touched  by  her 
pitiful  story,  he  promised  to  intercede  for  her  and  her 
lover  with  the  father.  Taking  the  couple  to  the  miser, 
he  presented  their  side  and  urged  consent,  but  the  miser 
was  obdurate  and  spurned  them  without  pity,  saying: 
"I  will  have  no  paupers  in  my  family." 

"Then  I  perceive,"  said  the  stranger,  "that  it  is  the 
money  and  not  the  manhood  you  would  have  your  daugh- 
ter marry?"  The  miser  shrugged  his  shoulders  and 
growled.  "But  if  he  should  bring  you  3,000  pistoles  for 
his  fortune,  would  you  consent?" 

"Three  thousand  pistoles !  Three  thousand  pistoles, 
from  a  pauper!"  exclaimed  the  miser.  "Yes,  yes,  I 
would  consent." 

(Pistole — Spanish  gold  coin,  $3.65.) 

Drawing  a  piece  of  parchment  from  his  pocket  the 
stranger  sketched  a  hand  upon  it  with  crayon,  and  held 
it  in  front  of  the  miser,  who  exclaimed :  "My  God !  It 
is  my  hand !  It  is  my  own  hand !"  And  sure  enough, 
it  was  an  old  withered  hand,  half-open,  in  the  act  of 
catching  a  shower  of  gold. 

Signing  his  name  to  it,  the  stranger  said:  "Take  it 
to  the  keeper  of  St.  Mark's,  and  ask  for  3,000  pistoles," 
which  he  promptly  did,  and  laid  the  money  in  the  lap 
of  the  miser,  who  consented,  and  the  young  couple  were 
married  and  were  happy. 

The  stranger  was  Michael  Angelo.  The  painting 
hung  for  years  in  Venice,  and  was  captured  in  the  war 
by  enemies,  and  now  only  a  tradition  remains  of  it,  yet 
the  legend  is  beautiful.  It  shozvs  that  Hue  finish,  talent, 
and  perfection  in  everything,  is  alzvays  rewarded,  and 
brings  gain  to  its  oumcr,  and  happiness  to  all  who  come 
within  its  influence. 


"94  NOTES  TO  LEGEND  OF  PANTHEA. 

XOTES  TO  LEG  EX  D  OE  PANTHEA. 

Panthca,  as  a  character,  is  a  rival  of  Joser-h  in  purity, 
an  inspiration  to  a  speaker  and  an  audience.  It  could  be 
used  by  man  or  woman  as  a  Woman's  Club  address,  and 
even  on  golden  wedding  celebrations.  To  a  speaker  of 
ordinary  experience,  it  will  appeal  directly,  and  point 
to  many  occasions  where  the  true  and  beautiful  enforce 
attention. 

i.  The  legend  of  Panthea  brings  out  three  great  char- 
acters. The  devotion  of  Panthea  to  her  husband,  her 
purity  and  influence,  her  gratitude  to  Cyrus,  and  her 
fidelity  to  honor. 

She  loved  Aberidates.  but  freely  gave  him  to  do  battle 
for  the  King.  She  would  accept  no  position  after  his 
-death,  and  willingly  followed  him  to  his  long,  long  rest. 
Her  servants  followed  the  custom  of  their  race 

2.  Aberidates  was  equally  devoted  to  his  King  and, 
nerved  by  the  last  words  of  Panthea,  gave  force  to  his 
blows  and  power  to  his  conduct  in  battle. 

When  hedged  in  by  the  enemy  his  fight  reminds  us 
of  Hobson's  men  clinging  to  the  raft  in  the  night,  in  the 
very  face  of  the  enemy — for  he  fell  onlv  when  his 
strength  was  gone,  and  after  a  splendid  victory. 

3.  Of  the  training  and  habits  of  Panthea  and  Abri- 
dates  we  have  no  record.  Of  Cyrus  we  are  told  that 
he  was  trained  in  youth  to  mount  fleet  horses,  sleep  on 
the  ground,  live  on  hard  fare,  and  later  taught  the  prin- 
ciples of  wisdom  and  justice. 

That  when  two  boys,  one  large  and  one  small,  had 
bought  misfit  coats  (the  small  boy's  boat  being  too  large 
and  the  larger  one's  too  small),  Cyrus  had  decided  they 
should  exchange,  and  his  teacher  reproved  the  injustice, 
saying:    "By  what  rule  or  law  do  you  take  the  property 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES  95 

of  one  for  another,  without  his  consent?     And   Cyrus 
thereby  learned  how  to  decide  with  justice  ever  after. 

4.  The  death  of  Cyrus  in  old  age  is  a  beautiful  ending 
of  a  great  life.  He  had  lived  to  be  honored  and  wealthy, 
to  bring  up  a  large  family,  and  benefit  his  country,  when 
a  clream  came  to  him,  and  he  said:  "I  saw  an  angel  in 
my  sleep,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  who  said:  'Cyrus, 
prepare  to  meet  thy  end;  the  hour  has  come.'"  He 
called  his  family  to  bid  them  good-bye,  saying :  "You 
have  never  seen  the  real  Cyrus.  When  I  am  gone,  let 
no  one  look  upon  my  face ;  let  no  one  think  of  me  as 
dead.  I  shall  be  living  with  the  gods  among  the  stars." 
He  turned  to  the  wall  and  slept,  and  they  covered  the 
great  man  from  sight,  as  he  had  requested. 

THE  LEGEND  OE  PANTHEA. 

There  is  a  legend  in  one  of  the  old  Greek  books  of  my 
library  called  the  "STORY  OF  PANTHEA."  Panthea 
was  captured  by  the  soldiers  of  Cyrus,  in  a  contest  with 
the  Assyrian  army.  When  they  brought  the  glad  news 
to  Cyrus  of  their  wonderful  victory  they  said :  "We 
have  brought  you,  Oh  King,  a  most  beautiful  woman. 
Even  as  she  reclined  upon  the  ground,  covered  with  her 
veils,  we  saw  that  she  was  a  superior  creature,  but  when 
she  did  stand  up  and  stood  erect  she  was  so  divinely 
tall  and  graceful  in  her  carriage  that  we  do  declare 
she  is  the  most  beautiful  creature  in  all  Asia,  and  we 
have  brought  her  to  thee,  Oh,  King,  as  a  present  to  thee 
and  a  trophy  of  our  victory."  And  King  Cyrus  said : 
"If  half  what  you  say  of  her  is  true,  I  will  not  dare  to 
look  upon  her;  engrossed  as  I  am  with  the  affairs  of 
state,  should  I  gaze  upon  her  once,  I  might  be  tempted 
to  see  her  another  time.     No,  I  will  not  see  her;  but 


96  the  legend  of  panthea. 

have  a  care  for  her — see  that  no  harm  comes  to  her — 
for  if  she  is  a  being  as  you  say  she  is,  she  will  bring 
influence  to  our  kingdom." 

And  Cyrus  placed  a  man  in  charge  of  Panthea,  and 
he  said  early  in  his  guardship:  "Fair  lady,  I  trust  that 
your  husband  must  have  been  a  prince,  but  our  liking 
Cyrus  will  deal  more  kindly  with  you  than  even  he  your 
husband  could  have  done."  At  the  mention  of  her  hus- 
band, Panthea  broke  into  tears,  and  tearing  away  her 
veil,  uncovered  her  face  and  hands,  and  said:  "Speak 
not  to  me  of  aught  against  my  husband."  And  yet  the 
man  persisted,  and  hinted  that  the  separation  from  her 
husband  was  a  lasting  one. 

Panthea  sent  word  to  the  King,  and  another  guard  was 
placed  over  her,  with  directions  to  treat  her  with  the 
utmost  kindness.  Cyrus,  having  heard  the  insuit  already 
offered  her,  he  called  the  culprit  before  him  and  rebuked 
him  sharply.  He  could  have  taken  his  life,  bur  he  re- 
marked to  the  second  keeper :  "It  is  not  so  very  strange, 
after  all,  that  he  was  in  love  with  her,  for  gods  and  men 
are  alike  in  love  with  beautiful  women." 

Not  long  after  the  second  keeper  took  charge  of  Pan- 
thea, he,"  too.  became  enchanted  with  her  charms, 
partly  by  association,  partly  by  mutual  kindness,  and 
partly  by  her  beauty ;  and  this  news  was  conveyed  to 
Cyrus,  who  said:  "Surely  a  creature  of  such  influence 
must  be  of  great  use  to  our  kingdom."  And  he  sent 
word  to  Panthea  and  bade  her  call  her  husband,  and 
come  and  be  ally  to  the  forces  of  Cyrus,  which  offer 
Aberidataes,  Panthea's  husband,  gladly  accepted,  and 
hurried  forward  to  meet  his  long-absent  wife,  bringing 
with  him  10,000  men  and  10,000  horses,  and  cheerfully 
joining  in  the  forces  of  Cyrus. 

War  came  on,  and  partly  by  lot  and  partly  by  design, 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  97 

Aberidates,  Panthea's  husband,  gladly  accepted,  and 
battle.  Before  leaving,  Panthea  came  to  him  to  bid 
him  good-bye,  and,  having  decorated  his  chariot  poles 
with  ribbons  and  placing  her  hand  upon  his  shoulder, 
said:  "My  good  husband,  you  go  to  battle  for  our  King, 
for  him  who  did  so  generously  save  us  for  each  other. 
Xo  woman  loves  her  husband  more  than  Panthea  loves 
thee ;  but  remember  that  we  both  love,  honor  more.  Let 
no  act  of  your's  this  day  bring  discredit  to  the  cause  of 
Cyrus,  but  battle  bravely,  as  if  both  Panthea  and  Cyrus 
were  standing  by  your  side.  Remember  Panthea."  She 
kissed  her  husband  and  kissed  the  chariot  wheels,  and 
he  was  gone. 

The  battle  was  a  fierce  one.  At  one  time  the  forces 
of  Abridates  were  surrounded  by  the  forces  of  Croesius, 
as  by  a  strong  brick  wall,  but,  fighting  with  superhuman 
energy,  he  cut  through  the  lines  and  gained  a  marvelous 
victory,  losing  his  own  life  in  the  contest,  being  nearly 
hacked  to  pieces,  his  arms  cut  nearly  off  at  the  wrists, 
and  his  head  almost  severed  from  his  body. 

On  hearing  of  his  fate  Cyrus  mounted  his  horse  and 
rode  hurriedly  to  the  field.  On  dismounting  he  found 
Panthea  kneeling  on  one  knee,  holding  the  head  of  her 
husband  in  her  lap,  and  he  reached  out  and  took  Aberi- 
dates  by  the  hand,  for  his  body  was  still  warm.  On 
touching  the  hand  it  parted  at  the  wrist,  and  Panthea 
said :  "Oh,  take  him  not  apart ;  it  was  my  words  that 
did  cheer  him  and  urge  him  to  his  fate."  And  Cyrus  said : 
"( )h,  great  and  noble  friend,  I  will  raise  a  monument  in 
his  memory,  and  generations  shall  call  him  great.  Say 
what  thou  wilt,  and  go  wiiere  thou  would'st,  and  I  will 
send  thee."  But  Panthea  said :  "Leave  me  with  my 
husband  yet  a  little  while,  and  then  you  shall  soon  know 
where  I  would  be  sent."     And  Cvrus  returned    to    his 


98  BOOKS    AND    ENENTS. 

camp,  and  Panthea,  being  alone,  seized  a  poniard  and 
buried  it  in  her  breast,  falling  dead  by  the  side  of  her 
husband.  They  were  buried  in  one  grave,  as  two  who 
did  great  honor  to  each  other.  And  two  servants  killed 
themselves  and  were  buried  by  their  mistress. 

It  is  not  the  solemn  part,  but  the  cheering  part.  It 
is  not  the  tragic  ending,  but  the  intense  devotion.  It  is 
not  the  marriage  of  the  two,  but  the  influence  of  Pan- 
thea, that  enforces  the  lesson  that  we  are  teaching  in 
our  schools. 

The  young  women  of  our  country  are  the  Pantheas 
of  the  nation.  The  women  of  the  churches  are  the  Pan- 
theas of  the  churches.  They  are  the  ones  in  every  reform 
.that  touch  their  husbands,  their  brothers,  and  their 
•sweethearts  on  the  shoulders  and  bid  them  fight  valiantly 
in  every  good  undertaking. 

BOOKS  AND  EVENTS. 

George  Eliot  has  said :  "There  are  things  and  events 
that  pass  by  us  like  the  winds  that  blow,  and  we  see 
them  and  hear  them  no  more  forever.  And  then  there 
are  other  things  and  events  that  come  to  us  and  look 
upon  us  with  kindly  eyes,  clasp  us  with  friendly  hands, 
breathe  upon  us  their  sweet  breath,  thrill  us  like  a  pas- 
sion and  touch  us  like  a  song;  and  then  we  are  moved 
by  them."    This  event  falls  within  the  latter  class. 

One  author  has  said  that  reading  makes  a  man  fit 
company  for  himself.  We  all  know  he  made  a  truthful 
saying.  About  the  rarest,  choicest  hours  of  life  are 
spent  in  the  company  of  good  books,  papers  or  mag- 
azines. 

If  we  have  not  read  the  Vicar  of  Wakefield,  or  Per- 
nanz,  in  Goldsmith;  Panthea,  or  the  Story  of  Cyrus  :n 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.    "  99 

the  Greek;  the  marvelous  pictures  of  war  by  Hugo,  or 
Balzac's  strange  wording  of  customs  in  France,  or  Ma- 
cauley.  Gibbon,  and  Shakespeare,  or  Dickens  and  Mc- 
Carthy— we  have  left  out  a  large  space  in  the  march  of 
time,  only  to  be  covered  by  that  ledger  account  so  elo- 
quently posted  and  preserved  in  Ridpah.h's  History  of 
the  World. 

One  who  has  forgotten  Holland's  "BitU".  Sweet"  ior 
•some  idle  game  of  cards,  and  never  read  his  "Kathrina" 
on  a  stormy  night,  has  left  another  gap  in  life,  never  to 
be  filled  until  he  reads  their  matchless  pathos 

Nor  is  the  picture  of  a  world  complete  that  leaves  out 
Goethe  and  his  sturdy  talk  of  choosing  eanv  what  one 
must  follow  for  a  livelihood — "The  Fables  of  Aeesop" 
and  "Sayings  of  Chesterfield,"  or  an  evening  spent  with 
""Enoch  Arden"  and  "Cervantes"  will  ah\  tys  leave  pleas- 
ing memories  for  reflection. 

Addison  wrote  no  purer  English  than  Ruskin,  and 
Blaine  was  as  vigorous  as  Henry  George — each  iiad  art, 
finish  and  originality.  They  were  men  who  helped  to 
shape  their  times ;  their  sayings  ring  in  our  -^ars  with 
welcome  sounds.  Then  Lowell  will  tell  u\  that  "Lif- 
is  a  sheet  of  paper  white,  on  which  each  one  ma;,  write 
his  line  or  two — and  then  comes  night."  While  Wh'ttier 
will  show  "What  might  have  been,"  acu!  Bryant  de- 
scribes the  inarch  of  ages  and  the  final  resting  place  of 
Kings,  till  we  almost  see  him  fold  the  drap-.T  of  his  couch 
about  him  and  lie  down  to  pleasant  dreams. 

It  may  be  Carlton  who  recalls  the  hat\>b?r  treatment 
of  the  poor  in  old  age,  or  Burns  who  sings  how  man  was 
made  to  mourn,  but  each  rare  book  or  ;-.tory  pamphlet 
paper  or  magazine  has  touched  us  somewhere — if  the 
stuff  in  it  was  warm  enough  to  reach  the  heart,  and  from 
them  all  our  after  lives  are  made  happier. 


ICO  OUR  CHILDHOOD  S    HOME. 

Hale  has  lately  hold  us  how  the  fringe  and  cornice 
drapery  and  paintings  of  our  literature  can  be  found  in 
legends — these  the  rarest,  most  obscure,  and  daintiest  of 
all — least  read,  are  the  most  neglected  of  our  books. 

Take  a  single  legend,  the  Creation  of  Man;  by  this 
strange  story,  when  the  Almighty  conceived  the  notion 
of  man's  creation,  He  called  his  three  gre-u  attiibutes  to 
his  aid,  saying  to  Truth:  "Shall  we  make  man?''  Truth 
said :  "Make  him  not ;  he  will  deny  Thy  law."  To  Jus- 
tice H  he  said:  "Shall  we  create  man?"  And  Justice  an- 
swered :  "Create  him  not.  Father,  he  will  destroy  Thy 
statutes,  bring  want  and  misery  to  life,  bathe  his  hands 
in  human  blood — make  him  not.  But,  gentle  Mercy, 
kneeling  near  the  throne,  said :  "Oh,  create  him,  Father, 
and  I  will  follow  him ;  wheresoe'r  he  goes  I  will  go ;  by 
his  errors  and  his  struggles  shall  he  learn  wisdom,  and 
at  last  I  will  bring  him  back  to  Thee." 

And  man  was  made  to  learn  wisdom  by  his  errors  and 
his  struggles,  which  are  always  best  told  in  rare  books. 

OUR    CHILDHOOD'S   HOME 

The  happy  memories  of  our  early  home  are  never 
obliterated.  Cast  down  by  the  deepest  affliction,  they 
need  only  be  mentioned  to  create  anew  within  us  a 
feeling  of  their  long-cherished  loveliness.  The  sun  never 
looks  so  beautiful,  the  earth  never  wears  a  mantle  of 
purer  green,  the  birds  never  sing  so  sweetly  as  they  did 
at  the  old  homestead  that  bright,  mellow  morning  of  May, 
when  the  puffing  land-ship  passed  through  the  valley  near 
our  little  cottage  home  in  New  England. 

The  gentle  breeze  of  early  summer  lifted  the  fleecy 
smoke  from  the  village  housetops,  while  the  mingling 
fog  at  early  sunrise  shaded  the  picture  like  a  painted 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  IOI 

landscape.  All  seemed  bent  on  leaving  a  lasting  impres- 
sion of  beauty  on  the  mind  of  her  who  was  to  b?<3  a  final 
farewell  to  the  home  of  her  childhood. 

Yonder  passed  the  whistling  plow-boy,  with  his  dappled 
team  of  familiar  horses.  Further  on.  the  village  black- 
smith stirred  the  red  coals  with  his  right  hand,  and 
pulled  clown  the  heavy  bellows  with  his  left.  The  busy 
builder's  heavy  hammer  blows  rang  out  a  welcome  good- 
morning  as  he  drove  home  the  heavy  nails  in  a  newly- 
made  dwelling.  The  merchant  shaped,  with  conscious 
pride,  the  figured  calico  in  his  spacious  show-windows, 
and  watched  wistfully  for  his  coming  customers. 

Half-way  up  the  hillside,  hidden  by  shade  trees,  with 
its  front  door  looking  eastward,  stands  a  little  snow- 
white  cottage,  with  its  vine-shaded  windows — the  dear- 
est, loveliest  spot  on  all  the  earth — our  childhood's  some. 
High  upon  either  side,  like  lofty  sentinels  to  guard  its 
sacredness.  are  stately  elms  and  ember-leaded  maples, 
while  trickling  down  hard  by  the  garden  walk  runs  the 
bright,  silver  streamlet,  where  we  wandered  together  and 
playfully  sent  our  tiny  ships  under  the  water-wheel, 
floating  rapidly  to  the  ocean. 

Standing  near  the  doorway,  with  one  hand  on  a  bundle 
and  the  other  in  the  warm  grasp  of  her  mother,  was  the 
•eldest  of  our  happy  household,  waiting  to  say  the  last 
reluctant  good-bye  and  take  her  departure.  Many  mo- 
ments were  passed  in  summoning  the  half-audible  words 
that  had  so  often  been  inaudibly  repeated  all  through 
the  morning. 

For  a  moment  the  mother  and  daughter  hold  each  other 
in  a  loving  embrace,  and  whisper  some  words  of  auc- 
tion, "just  loud  enough  to  be  heard  in  heaven,"  and  then 
they  separate.  The  trusting  girl  turns  to  her  brothers 
and  sisters,  kissing  them  all  with  affectionave  fondness, 


102  OUR  CHILKHOOD  S    HOME. 

and  at  last  reaches  her  hand  to  her  father.  Nature  has 
made  him  of  sterner  mould,  but  underneath  his  farmer 
garb  of  homespun  gray  burns  a  warmer  heart  than  that 
carried  by  many  a  lordly  millionaire. 

Words  to  him  are  idle  mockery.  All  through  the  busy 
morning  he  had  been  musing  on  forms  of  loving  counsel 
to  an  angel  child,  but  when  she  takes  his  strong  hand  in 
her  own,  and  looks  up  to  him  with  her  dark  eyes  full  of 
tears,  to  say:  "Father,"  the  words,  "My  daughter!"  are 
all  his  faltering  voice  can  utter. 

To  see  a  mother  weep  is  common.  But  man's  sorrow 
is  deep  and  rare.  , 

Once  more  she  embraces  her  heartbroken  mother,  ami 
leaves  the  last  farewells  for  him  who  has  come  to  ebim 
her  for  his  own. 

What  heart  so  flinty,  or  full  of  adamant,  as  to  injure 
a  flower,  plucked  from  such  a  golden  garden?  Let  us 
hope  that  such  are  few,  while  we  tremble  at  their  number. 

Quickly  and  lightly  they  pass  down  the  hillside,  loaded 
with  bundles,  arm-in-arm  together,  while  in  the  rear,  with 
heavy  step  and  solemn  heart,  the  father  follows  with 
extra  luggage. 

The  whistle  blows,  the  land-ship  halts  before  the 
crowded  station.  The  new-made  couple  enter  and  arc 
seated.  A  moment  passes  and  an  uplifted  window  shows 
its  white  signal,  which  is  answered  by  others  of  the 
household.  Hark!  Did  I  hear?  Yes,  floating  on  the 
morning  air,  rings  out  .the  last  fond  blessing  o  f  a  loving 
mother. 

"Be  a  good  girl,  Hattie !  Be  a  good  girl,  Hattie !"  And 
the  last  words  ringing  in  her  ears  as  the  train  moves 
swiftly  onward  are:    "Be  a  good  girl!" 

She  is  gone.  Fortune  or  adversity,  sickness  or  pros- 
perity will  never  obliterate  the  first  and  saddest  parting 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  103 

of  a  happy  family.  Let  the  heart  linger  long  on  its  mem- 
ory :  let  the  mind  drink  deep  and  often  at  its  fountain, 
for  fame  and  riches  and  honor  are  empty  nothings  when 
compared  with  its  sacredness. 

Ah,  could  we  read  the  heart  of  that  father  or  that 
mother,  what  a  wealth  of  affection  would  be  found  to 
follow  their  children  through  the  long,  long  journey  to 
the  distant  West !  These  be  their  fortune,  their  idol,  and 
their  all.  And  such  is  no  fancy  picture,  but  a  known  and 
living  reality,  stamped  on  the  memory,  lighting  and  cheer- 
ing the  dark  places  of  the  life  with  diamond  brightness. 

THE  MURDER  OF  LINCOLN. 

By  Walt  Whitman. 

The  President  came,  and  with  his  wife  witnessed  the 
play  from  the  large  stage  boxes  of  the  second  tier,  two 
thrown  into  one,  and  profusely  draped  with  the  national 
flag.  The  acts  and  scenes  of  the  piece — one  of  those 
singularly  witless  compositions  which  have  at  least  the 
merit  of  giving  entire  relief  to  an  audience  engaged  in 
mental  action  or  business  excitements  and  cares  during 
the  day,  as  it  makes  not  the  slightest  call  on  either  the 
moral,  emotional,  aesthetic  or  spiritual  nature — a  piece 
("Our  American  Cousin"),  in  which,  among  other  char- 
acteristics so  called,  a  Yankee,  certainly  such  a  one  as  was 
ever  seen,  or  at  the  least,  like  it  ever  seen  in  North  Amer- 
ica, is  introduced  in  England  with'a  varied  plot,  and  scen- 
ery such  as  goes  to  make  up  a  modern  popular  drama.  It 
had  progressed  through  a  couple  of  acts  when,  in  the 
midst  of  this  comedy,  or  tragedy,  or  none,  or  whatever 
it  is  to  be  called,  and  to  offset  it  or  finish  it  out,  as  if  in 
Nature's  and  the  great  muse's  mockery  of  these  poor 
minds,  comes  into  that  scene,  not  really  or  exactly  to  be 


104  THE    MURDER    OF    LINCOLN. 

described  at  all  (for  on  the  many  hundreds  who  were 
there  it  seems  to  this  hour  to  have  left  little  but  a  passing 
blur,  a  dream,  a  blotch),  and  yet  partially  to  be  described 
as  it  is  now  given. 

There  is  a  scene  in  the  play  representing  the  modern 
parlor,  in  which  two  unprecedented  English  ladies  are 
informed  by  the  unprecedented  and  impossible  Yankee, 
that  he  is  not  a  man  of  fortune,  and  therefore  undesirable 
for  marriage-catching  purposes.  After  which,  the  com- 
ments being  finished,  the  dramatic  trio  make  exit,  leaving 
the  stage  clear  for  a  moment.  There  was  a  pause,  a  hush, 
as  it  were.  At  this  period  came  the  murderer  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  Great  as  that  was,  with  all  its  manifold  train 
circling  around  it,  and  stretching  into  the  future  for 
many  a  century,  in  the  politics,  history,  art,  etc.,  of  the 
New  World,  in  point  of  fact  the  main  thing,  the  actual 
murder  transpired  with  the  quiet  and  simplicity  of  any 
commonest  occurrence — the  bursting  of  a  bud  or  pod  in 
the  growth  of  vegetation,  for  instance. 

Through  the  general  hum  following  the  stage  pause, 
with  the  change  of  positions,  came  the  muffled  sound  of 
a  pistol  shot,  which  not  one-hundredth  part  of  the  au- 
dience heard  at  the  time.  And  yet  a  moment's  hush, 
somehow,  surely  a  vague,  startled  thrill,  and  then, 
through  the  ornamental,  draperied,  starred  and  striped 
space,  'way  off  the  President's  box,  a  sudden  figure — a 
man — raises  himself  with  hands  and  feet,  stands  a  mo- 
ment on  the  railing,  leaps  below  to  the  stage,  (a  distance 
of  perhaps  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet),  falls  out  of  position, 
catching  his  boot-heel  in  the  copious  drapery  (the  Amer- 
ican flag),  falls  on  one  knee,  quickly  recovers  himself, 
rising  as  if  nothing  had  happened  (he  really  sprained  his 
ankle,  but  it  was  unfelt  then)  ;  and  so  the  figure  Booth, 
the  murderer,   dressed   in   plain   black  broadcloth,   bare- 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  105 

"headed,  with  a  full  head  of  glossy,  raven  hair,  and  his 
eyes,  like  some  mad  animal's,  flashing  with  light  and  res- 
olution, yet  with  a  certain  strange  calmness,  holds  aloft 
in  one  hand  a  large  knife,  walks  along  not  much  back 
from  the  footlights,  turns  fully  toward  the  audience  his 
face  of  statuesque  beauty,  lit  by  those  basilisk  eyes,  flash- 
ing with  desperation,  perhaps  insanity,  launches  out  in  a 
firm  and  steady  voice  the  words,  "Sic  semper  tyrannis," 
and  then  walks  with  neither  a  slow  nor  a  very  rapid  pace 
diagonally  across  to  the  back  of  the  stage  and  disappears. 
(Had  not  all  this  terrible  scene-making,  the  mimic  ones 
preposterous,  had  it  not  all  been  rehearsed,  in  blank,  by 
Booth  beforehand?) 

A  moment's  hush,  incredulous,  a  scream  of  murder, 
Mrs.  Lincoln  leaning  out  of  the  box  with  ashy  cheeks  and 
lips  with  the  involuntary  cry,  pointing  to  the  retreating 
figure:  "He  has  killed  the  President!"  And  still  a  mo- 
ment's strange,  incredulous  suspense,  and  then  the 
deluge !  Then  that  mixture  of  horror,  noises,  uncer- 
tainty, the  sound  somewhere  back  of  a  horse's  hoofs 
clattering  with  speed,  the  people  burst  through  chairs 
and  railings  and  broke  them  up.  That  noise  adds  to  the 
•queerness  of  the  scene.  There  is  inextricable  confusion 
and  terror-stricken  women  faint;  quite  feeble  prsons  fall 
and  are  trampled  on ;  many  cries  of  agony  are  heard ;  the 
broad  stage  suddenly  fills  to  suffocation  with  a  dense  and 
motley  crowd,  like  some  horrible  carnival.  The  audience 
rush  generally  upon  it — at  least  the  strong  men  do.  The 
actors  and  actresses  are  all  there  in  their  play  costumes 
and  painted  faces,  with  moral  fright  showing  through 
the  rouge;  some  trembling,  some  in  tears,  the  screams 
and  calls  and  confused  talk  redoubled,  trebled.  Two  or 
three  manage  to  pass  ttp  water  from  the  stage  to  the 
President's  box ;  others  try  to  clamber  up  higher. 


106  THE   MURDER    OF    LINCOLN. 

In  the  midst  of  all  this  the  soldiers  of  all  this  the  Pres- 
ident's guard,  with  others,  suddenly  drawn  to  the  scene,, 
burst  in  (some  200,  altogether)  ;  they  storm  the  house, 
through  all  the  tiers,  especially  the  upper  ones,  inflamed" 
with  fury,  literally  charging  the  audience  with  fixed 
bayonets,  muskets  and  pistols,  shouting:  "Clear  outf 
Clear  out !"  Such  was  the  wild  scene,  or  a  suggestion 
of  it  rather,  inside  the  playhouse  that  night. 

Outside,  too,  in  the  atmosphere  of  shock  and  craze, 
crowds  of  people,  filled  with  frenzy,  ready  to  seize  any 
outlet  for  it,  came  near  committing  murder  several  times- 
on  innocent  individuals.  One  such  case  was  especially 
exciting.  The  infuriated  crowd,  through  some  chance 
got  started  against  one  man,  either  for  words  he  uttered, 
or  perhaps  without  any. cause  at  all,  and  were  proceeding 
at  once  to  actually  hang  him  on  a  neighboring  lamp-post, 
when  he  was  rescued  by  a  few  heroic  policemen,  who- 
placed  him  in  their  midst  and  fought  their  way  slowly 
amid  great  peril  toward  the  station  house.  It  was  a 
fitting  episode  of  the  whole  affair.  The  crowd,  rushing 
and  eddying  to  and  fro  in  the  night ;  the  yells,  the  pale 
faces  of  many  frightened  people  trying  in  vain  to  extri- 
cate themselves ;  the  attacked  man,  not  yet  freed  from 
the  jaws  of  death,  looking  like  a  corpse;  the  silent,  reso- 
lute half-dozen  policemen  with  no  weapons  but  their 
little  clubs,  yet  stern  and  steady  through  all  those  eddying 
swarms — made  indeed  a  fitting  side  scene  to  the  grand 
tragedy  of  the  murder.  They  gained  the  station  house 
with  the  protected  man,  whom  they  placed  in  security 
for  the  night,  and  discharged  him  in  the  morning. 

And  in  the  midst  of  that  night  pandemonium  of  sense- 
less hate,  infuriated  soldiers,  the  audience  and  the  crowd,, 
the  stage  and  all  its  actors  and  actresses,  its  paint-pots,, 
spangles  and  gas-lights,  the  life  blood  from  those  veins,. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  107 

the  best  and  sweetest  of  the  land,  drips  slowly  down,  and 
Death's  ooze  already  begins  its  little  bubbles  on  the  lips. 
Such,  hurriedly  sketched,  were  the  accompaniments 
of  the  death  of  President  Lincoln.  So  suddenly,  and  in 
murder  and  horror  unsurpassed,  he  was  taken  from  us. 
But  his  death  was  painless. 

NATURE'S  GENTLEMAN. 
(It  Pictures  Lincoln.) 

When  Nature,  with  a  matchless  hand, 

Sends  forth  her  nobly  born. 
She  laughs  the  paltry  attributes 

Of  wealth  and  rank  to  scorn; 
She   moulds   with  care,  and   spirit  rare, 

Half  human,  half   divine. 
And  cries,  exultingly:    "Who  can  make 

A  gentleman  like  mine? 

She  may  not  spend  her  finer  skill 

Upon  the  outer  part, 
But  showers  beauty,  grace  and  light 

Upon  the  brain  and  heart; 
No  haughty  gesture  marks  his  gait, 

No  pompous  tone  his  word ; 
No  studied  attitude  is  seen, 

No  palling  nonsense  heard. 

Justice  and  mercy  for  his  code, 

He  puts  his  trust  in  Heaven ; 
His  prayer  is:    "If  the  heart  be  right 

May  all  else  be  forgiven." 
So  few  of  such  men  gem  the  earth, 

Yet,  such  rare  gems  they  are, 
Each  shining  in  his  hallowed  sphere, 

As  Virtue's  polar  star. 


108  FLOWERS  OX  THE  WATER. 

There  are  some  spirits  nobly  just, 

Unwarped  by  pelt  or  pride, 
Great  in  the  calm,  but  greater  still 

When  dashed  against  the  tide. 
They  hold  the  rank  no  king  can  give, 

No  station  can  disgrace ; 
When  Nature  forms  Iter  gentleman 

All  others  must  give  place. 

Eliza  Cook. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Short  Addresses ;  Value  of  a  Man ;  Stick  to  It ;  Save 
the  Boys ;  Our  Opportunity ;  Time ;  Flowers  on  the 
Water :  Decoration  Day. 

FLOWERS  OX  THE  WATER. 
{Decoration  Day.) 

The  Story  of  Our  Country  is  full  of  daring  characters 
and  thrilling  events.  It  has  in  it  three  great  wars,  ever 
memorable  in  history. 

The  Seven  Years  of  Revolution  that  gave  us  inde- 
pendence and  a  nation  of  our  own ;  the  Rebellion,  that 
gave  us  a  more  perfect  Union  and  a  more  general  free- 
dom ;  the  Spanish-Cuban  War,  which  crowned  our  Na\y 
with  a  brilliant  victory. 

"The  character  of  a  people  is  known  by  the  men  they 
crown,"  said  a  Greek  orator.  And  if  we  crown  not  our 
heroes,  what  motive  will  incite  them  to  deeds  or  daring? 

In  the  pages  of  our  history  no  braver  deeds  will  be 
found  than  those  of  the  patient,  long-suffering  boys  at 
Libby,  Andersonville.  and  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac, 
or  at  Yicksburg. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  109 

The  proud  part  performed  by  the  Navy  in  disabling 
the  enemy  at  Mobile;  at  Old  Point  Comfort;  the.  brilliant 
battle  between  the  Monitor  and  the  ugly  Merrimac ;  the 
whipping  of  the  blockade-runner  Alabama  by  the  Kear- 
sarge,  away  over  by  the  coast  of  France,  and  that  historic 
passage  of  that  brave  old  Commodore  Farragut,  as  he 
sailed  down  the  Mississippi  and  aided  Grant  in  the  cap- 
ture of  Yicksburg,  'way  up  toward  the  stars,  lashed  to 
the  mast,  he  went,  as  through  the  fires  of  Hades,  on  to 
his  victory ! 

"Brave  boys  were  they, 

Gone  at  their  Country's  call ; 
And  yet,  and  yet,  we  cannot  forget, 

That  many  brave  boys  must  fall." 

And  we  are  met  to  remember  them ;  to  throw  out  on 
the  blue  waters  the  flowers  of  sweet  incense  to  their 
memory.  We  cannot  comprehend  the  hardships  they 
endured,  on  both  sides.  We  know  they  gave  their  lives 
to  save  their  Country;  went  out  in  the  morning  of  life, 
in  the  honeymoon  of  their  hopes  and  happiness  they 
served,  at  a  time  when  the  Senate  Chamber  was  an 
arsenal,  when  soldiers  were  quartered  in  the  halls  of 
Congress  when  the  life  of  the  nation  hung  in  the  balance, 
when  brave  men  and  the  God  of  Battles  saved  our 
Country. 

In  this  bright  era  of  our  history,  it  is  fitting  that  we 
honor  every  hero  of  our  wars,  living  as  well  as  dead,  and 
give  them  all  the  flowers  we  can. 

.  When  the  Silent  Soldier  reached  the  Golden  Gate, 
after  his  two  years'  trip  around  the  world,  loaded  with 
honors,  he  was  met  by  the  mayor  and  a  vast  concourse 
of  people,  on  either  side  a  file  of  school  children,  with 
flags  and  flowers.     The  flags  they  waved,  the  flowers 


110  HABITS    AND   TRAINING. 

they  threw  in  his  pathway  from  steamboat  to  hotel,  and 
"Speech!  Speech!"  came  from  all  sides.  The  strong 
man  bowed  his  head  and  trembled.  He,  who  had  met 
kings  and  emperors ;  who  had  led  great  armies  to  victory, 
trembled  as  he  said :  "A  nation  that  trains  its  young  men 
and  women  in  its  schools  to  love  the  flag,  cannot  fail  to 
rank  among  the  nations  of  the  earth." 

So,  let  us  teach  that  the  character  of  a  nation  is  known 
by  the  men  we  crown. 

HABITS  AND  TRAINING. 

Lycurgus,  the  ancient  law-giver,  to  convince  his  King 
of  the  value  of  training  and  education,  ingeniously 
argued: 

"I  would  show  thee,  Oh,  King,  the  value  of  habit  and 
training  upon  a  people,  for  as  their  training  is,  so  will 
they  be  all  through  their  lives.  I  would  show  thee  by 
example  of  my  little  dogs. 

The  King,  being  a  lover  of  dogs,  said:  "Bring  in 
your  dogs." 

The  dogs  were  sent  for,  when  Lycurgus  said:  "This 
little  dog  on  my  left  has  been  petted  and  fondled  and 
fed  on  bread  and  milk,  and  kept  in  the  house.  This  little 
dog  on  my  right,  his  own  brother,  has  been  taken  to  the 
chase  and  taught  to  hunt  the  hare  and  brmg  it  to  his 
master — to  make  his  way  in  the  world  by  hunting.  Now, 
bring  in  a  platter  of  bread  and  milk  and  a  live  hare," 
which,  being  done  and  the  milk  placed  farthest  from  the 
house-dog,  and  the  hare  furthest  from  the  hunting  dog, 
the  law-giver  said:  "Now,  let  go  the  dogs;"  which,  being 
done,  the  house-dog  ran  at  once  to  the  milk  platter,  and 
never  stopped  until  he  had  eaten  all  of  it;  and  the  hunting 
-dog  made  chase  for  the  hare,  and  stopped  not  until  he 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  Ill 

had  caught  it  and  laid  it  at  his  master's  feet.  And 
Lycurgus  said :  "You  see,  Oh  King,  by  the  example  of 
the  little  dogs,  that,  as  their  habit  is  and  as  their  training 
is,  so  will  they  be  all  through  their  lives.  And  so  also 
it  is  with  men  and  children.'" 

KILL  THE  SQUIRREL. 

The  real  winter  in  Life,  after  all,  is  one  who,  with 
a  single  plan  and  purpose,  holds  to  his  point  and  duty  to 
the  end.     Most  people  have  too  many  aims. 

An  excellent  example  is  in  the  story  of  a  lawyer  se- 
lecting a  clerk.  The  lawyer  put  a  notice  in  an  evening 
paper,  saying  that  he  would  pay  a  small  stipend  to  an 
active  office  clerk.  Next  morning  his  office  was  crowded 
with  applicants,  all  bright,  and  many  suitable.  He  bade 
them  wait  in  a  room  until  all  should  arrive,  then  ranged 
them  in  a  row  and  said  he  would  tell  a  story,  and  note 
the  comments  of  the  boys,  and  judge  from  that  whom 
he  would  engage. 

"A  certain  farmer,"  began  the  lawyer,  "was  troubled 
with  a  red  squirrel  that  got  through  a  hole  in  his  barn 
and  stole  his  seed-corn,  and  he  resolved  to  kill  that  squir- 
rel at  the  first  opportunity.  Seeing  him  go  in  at  the 
hole  one  noon,  he  took  his  shot-gun  and  fired  away.  The 
first  shot  set  the  barn  on  fire." 

"Did  the  barn  burn?"  asked  one  of  the  boys. 

The  lawyer,  without  answer,  continued:  "And  seeing 
the  barn  on  fire,  the  farmer  seized  a  pail  of  water  and 
ran  to  put  it  out." 

"Did  he  put  the  fire  out?"  asked  another. 

"As  he  passed  inside,  the  door  shut  to,  and  the  barn 
was  soon  in  full  flames,  when  the  hired  giri  rushed  out 
with  more  water " 


112  EACH    ONES    PART. 

"Did  the  hired  girl  burn  up?"  said  another  boy. 

The  lawyer  went  on  without  answering:  "Then  the 
old  lady  came  out,  and  all  was  noise  and  confusion,  and 
everybody  was  trying  to  put  out  the  fire." 

''Did  they  all  burn  up?"  said  another. 

The  lawyer,  hardlv  able  to  restrain  his  laughter,  said: 
"There,  there;  that  will  do.  You  have  all  shown  great 
interest  in  the  story,  but  observing  one  little  bright-eyed 
fellow  in  deep  silence,  he  said:  "Now,  my  little  man, 
what  have  you  to  say?"  The  little  fellow  blushed  and 
stammered  out:  "1  want  to  know  what  became  of  that 
squirrel — that's  what  I  want  to  know." 

"You  will  do,"  said  the  lawyer;  "you  are  my  man; 
you  have  not  been  switched  off  by  a  confusion  and  a 
barn's  burning,  and  hired  girls  and  water-paiis ;  you 
have  kept  your  eye  on  the  squirrel." 

A  whole  chapter  is  given  to  this  story.  It  is  packed 
full  of  excellent  advice  to  beginners,  with  a  few  good 
hints  to  older  people.  In  every  calling  there  is,  or  should 
be,  one  squirrel  to  kill,  and  no  more. 

EACH  OXE'S  PART. 

Bishop  Xeuman  said :  "The  true  basis  of  all  liberty 
is  law."  Absolute  liberty  is  impossible.  A  restraining 
influence  is  essential  to  growth,  to  security,  to  character. 
Without  the  limit  of  law,  the  ownership  of  property  would 
cease,  and  men  would  contend  for  their  share,  as  wolves 
divide  their  substance. 

"Without  the  restraint  of  law,  the  trees  might  grow 
and  reach  above  the  sky;  without  the  limit  of  law,  the 
ambition  of  man,  with  his  present  environments,  would 
never  cease  till  he  managed  the  earth  and  stood  above 
the  sun ;  without  the  limit  of  law,  the  sun  and  stars  and 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  113 

elements  on  high  would  clash  and  melt,  and  roll  to  chaos 
in  a  maddened  mass.  The  law  that  makes  us,  keeps  us, 
rules  us,  gives  us  scope  for  effort  and  reward — is.  after 
all,  the  better  law  for  everyone.  It  leaves  man  withu> 
its  limits  to  work  out  mighty  plans  and  accomplish  great 
results. 

The  characters  in  history  that  stand  out  alone  have 
inherited  qualities  that  were  bred  in  their  nature.  Caesar 
to  rule ;  Anthony  to  be  moved  by  impulse ;  Gibbon  to 
write  and  reason ;  Napoleon  for  war ;  Howard  to  phil- 
anthropy ;  Addison  to  refinement ;  Washington  to  free- 
dom— but  each  worked  out  his  own  destiny,  and  when 
we  get  down  to  the  bed-rock  of  character,  it  demands 
individualism.  It  is  not  enough  that  others  succeed  and 
have  succeeded ;  the  condition  is  a  personal  one.  He  that 
is  wise,  is  wise  for  himself.  He  that  fails  must  turn  to 
himself,  and  not  to  another  for  the  cause  of  his  failure. 

Heaven  would  not  be  Heaven  alone  to  me,  if  all  the 
streets  were  gold,  the  gates  were  pearl,  the  leaves  of 
silver,  and  the  walls  of  jasper.  It's  not  enough  to  say 
of  it  that  the  good  of  all  ages  are  massed  together  there ; 
that  statesmen  and  scholars  and  wise  men  are  there. 
They  will  not  make  it  Heaven  to  me. 

It's  not  enough  that  I  shall  meet  the  friends  that  have 
gone  before  me  there ;  that  cannot  create  a  Heaven  for 
me.  It's  not  enough  that  waiting  angels  may  attend  the 
grounds  to  show  us  where  our  loved  ones  are.  It's  not 
enough  that,  just  within  the  gates,  a  fond  mother  may 
be  stationed  ready  to  stretch  forth  her  hands  of  welcome 
there.  Even  that  mother  has  not  power  to  make  it  a 
Heaven  for  me,  for  Heaven  must  be  born  within,  and 
must  become  a  part  of  self  to  be  enjoyed. 

A  good  character  needs  stability. 

You  remember  that  beautiful  epoch — the  Book  of  Job 


114  EACH    ONES    PART. 

— how  the  man  of  flocks  and  herds  and  lands,  and  family 
and  power,  later  became  poor  and  lost  his  property  and 
lost  his  health ;  how  the  black  leprosy  ate  into  his  burning 
flesh,  and  yet  he  held  his  character;  how,  when  his  family 
turned  against  him  and  his  own  wife  urged  him  to  take 
his  life — to  curse  God  and  die — yet  he  was  finn  and 
said:  "I  will  wait  for  the  fullness  of  my  time;  all  the 
time  my  breath  is  in  me  my  tongue  shall  not  utter  deceit ; 
till  I  die  I  will  not  remove  my  integrity  from  me." 

To  form  a  character  is  the  work  of  years — one  must 
learn  to  be  somebody,  and  do  something,  like  Edison, 
Grant,  Dewey,  Hobson,  or  Funston. 

Character  means  something  done,  and  well  done.  It 
means  manhood  and  womanhood. 

In  the  great  Roman  play,  "Virginius,"  where  the  father 
seeks  to  rescue  a  little  daughter,  Virginia,  that  had  been 
stolen  from  him,  you  remember  the  father  sa>  s,  as  he 
sees  he  must  lose  his  daughter:  "Give  me  men,  and  I 
will  rescue  her.  Where  are  the  men?  Give  me  men 
with  hearts  in  their  hands,  and  I  will  rescue  her;  the 
hand  is  no  stronger  than  the  heart.  Give  me  men !"  But 
there  are  no  men,  and  he  goes  over  to  his  tender  little 
girl  and  talks  with  her  a  moment,  and  while  talking 
with  her  he  drives  a  dagger  to  her  heart,  rather  than 
that  she  should  become  the  prey  of  an   unworthv  despot. 

Give  me  men  in  the  churches ;  give  me  men  in  society ; 
give  me  men  in  position ;  give  me  men,  and  I  will  rescue 
the  state ;  give  me  men,  and  I  will  rescue  the  country. 
The  world  wants  men;  the  church  needs  them;  the 
women  control  it.  The  women  are  the  stars  of  the 
churches  in  every  city  of  our  country. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  115 

THE  VALUE  OF  A  MAN. 

The  value  of  a  man  depends  upon  his  equipment  for 
the  duties  of  life — mental  and  physical  preparedness. 

The  recent  rapid  strides  of  inventions  which,  in  effect, 
are  making  the  earth  into  money — like  iron  ore  into 
armor-plate — at  enormous  profits ;  have  enforced  atten- 
tion to  man's  great  value  in  the  industrial  world.  When 
the  skill  and  genius  of  one  can  replace  the  bone  labor  of 
hundreds,  the  world  wants  the  quality  of  such  brain 
power. 

Up  in  the  Lake  Superior  region  are  scores  of  iron 
mines  that  furnish  surface  ore  for  the  steam  shovel,  for 
the  flat  boat,  at  50  cents  a  ton,  ready  to  be  floated  and 
shipped  to  Pittsburg  and  there  melted  into  a  running 
stream,  over  which  men  sit  in  wire  cages  and  drop  in 
chemicals  to  make  the  cheap  ore  into  Bessemer  steel, 
structural  steel,  tool  steel  of  high  value,  and  armor-plate 
worth  $465.00  a  ton,  while  whole  nations  are  buyers  as 
fast  as  produced,  at  a  profit  which  has  made  and  makes 
more  millions  per  year  than  the  wildest  dream  of 
Alladin ! 

But  the  real  value  is  in  the  man  who  made  possible 
the  process  of  turning  earth  into  money. 

The  ''Little  Minnie''  twine  binder  reaper  is  now  the 
mighty  harvester  of  millions  of  bushels  of  wheat  on  the 
plains  of  Kansas,  Minnesota  and  the  Dakotas.  Where 
once  was  a  wilderness  and  a  desert,  today  is  the  granary 
of  the  world.  Dr.  Armstrong's  thirty-five  years  of 
struggle  was  the  pioneer  of  its  great  invention. 

Many  a  time  during  the  last  score  of  years  could 
thousands  of  settlers  have  said:  "It  is  impossible;  the 
country  is  bleak  and  windy,  beset  by  blizzards  and  grass- 


Il6  THE    VALUE    OF   A    MAN. 

hoppers ;  it  will  not  pay  to  work  it  longer."  But  the 
sturdy,  strong  pioneers  who  looked  away  ahead  into  the 
future  said:  "Nothing  is  impossible  to  the  American 
farmer,  and  farmer  millionaires  are  the  latest  product  of 
the  great  Western  wheat  belt,  and  honor  and  dignity 
and  ease  and  comfort  is  the  heritage  of  the  farmer  and 
his  family. 

And  what  of  the  men  who  once  cut  the  grain  with  a 
cradle?  The  men  who  harvested  by  hand?  Is  their  oc- 
cupation ended?  By  no  means,  while  they  can  still  com- 
mand $18.00  a  week  as  harvesters,  and  £12.00  a  day  as 
chemists  in  the  steel  smelters. 

So  the  grain  raisers,  the  builders,  the  mine  workers 
and  owners  owe  their  riches  iargelv  to  the  inventor. 

But  the  cloth  weaver  and  shoemaker,  with  a  loom  that 
ties  its  own  thread,  with  a  process  that  needs  two  girls 
to  do  the  work  once  done  by  thirty  weavers,  and  a  ca- 
pacity of  thirty-two  pairs  of  sewed  shoes  daily  per  man, 
shoes  of  the  finest  finish,  is  a  fortune  and  a  compliment 
to  these  inventors,  and  an  added  value  to  the  character 
of  McCormick  and  McKay  as  promotors. 

And  now,  with  our  Edison  light  and  'phone  and  pho- 
nograph on  the  eve  of  storage  power  "to  release  the 
horse  from  his  thraldom"  and  move  fine  palaces  through 
the  air  with  ease  and  stillness,  we  have  learned  the  value 
of  Edison  as  we  never  did  before. 

The  life-saving  process  of  airbrakes,  the  automatic 
printing  presses,  the  sewing  machine,  the  bicycle,  the 
trolley  lines  and  steam  engine,  were  thought  out  by  men 
who  could  have  surrendered,  and  said:  "It  is  impos- 
sible ;"  but  they  saw  •  nothing  impossible  to  American 
inventors.  How  we  could  enlarge  the  theme  on  tools 
and  tin  goods,  of  pins,  bolt  works,  of  matches  and  marble 
cutters,  of  wire  nails  and  gimlet  screws,  of  sail  boats  and 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  117 

floating  palaces  on  the  lakes  and  oceans,  on  firearms, 
armored  cruisers,  on  homes,  in  place  of  cabins — but  the 
thinker  comprehends  them. 

The  value  of  a  man  is  in  his  doing  something  useful. 

The  Boyer  Tool  Works,  of  St.  Louis.  Chicago  and 
Detroit  is  an  example  of  Joseph  Boyer's  labcr-saving 
inventions.  With  air  pressure  power,  one  a  riveter  for 
clinching  boiler  and  bridge  rivets  from  the  outer  side, 
one  a  drill  that  easily  cuts  through  steel,  marble  or 
copper,  and  armor-plated  ships  for  port  holes,  while 
another  device,  "The  Little  Giant,"  lifts  mighty  trusses 
high  in  the  air  by  the  same  air  process,  and  still  another 
works  granite  or  marble  into  statuary  faster  than  300 
men  could  do  it  by  hand  carving. 

Any  secret  about  Boyer's  success?  Yes,  two  of  them: 
One,  the  intense  application  to  think  out  <"hree  inven- 
tions worth  nearly  a  million  dollars  each,  and  one  the 
refusal  to  surrender  when  he  was  a  poor,  struggling 
workman.  Now  he  runs  the  finest  factory  in  a  banner 
city  of  factories,  where  are  the  largest  seed  works,  the 
largest  stove  works,  car  works,  medicine  works,  in  the 
world ;  and  the  Boyer  Tool  Works  leads  them  all  in 
light,  in  bathrooms  and  workrooms  for  the  men. 

Any  other  secret  in  his  success?  Certainly.  His 
intense  belief  in  himself  and  his  work,  his  power  to 
please  his  workmen.  He  is  like  Edison,  a  believer  that 
genius  is  composed  of  98  per  cent,  sweat  and  2  per  cent, 
accident. 

Pullman's  value  as  a  palace  car  builder  reached  beyond 
$10,000,000,  and  he  gave  the  world  a  splendid  line  of 
sleeping  palaces,  floating  through  the  air.  His  chief 
error  was  his  indulgence  with  his  sons,  college-educated 
and  college  profligates!  Their  lives  teach  in  italics  that 
patience  and  persona!  fiber  by  far  outweigh  ready-made 


Il8  THE    VALUE    OF    A    MAN. 

fortunes  to  anv  young  man ;  that  the  one  lesson  of  all 
in  successful  business  is,  to  stick  to  it,  no!:  surrender, 
hold  on,  cultivate  diligence  as  the  next  neighbor  to  wis- 
dom and  the  main  element  of  genius. 

Since  the  critical  operations  by  Dr.  Lorenz  on  the 
little  helpless  cripples,  making  the  lame  to  walk  and 
filling  their  hearts  with  joy  and  hanpiness,  attention  has 
been  directed  to  the  value  of  trained  men  in  this  world 
of  ills  and  troubles.  We  had  looked  on  with  bated  breath 
at  the  treatment  of  the  martyred  McKinley,  and  the 
dangerous  operation  on  King  Edward,  the  success  of  the 
Pasteur  Institute,  the  modern  devices  of  lives  saved  by 
skill  and  genius,  with  increasing  wonder  at  their  mar- 
velous progress.  The  doctors  as  a  class  are  making  life 
longer.  The  lame  can  walk,  the  blind  are  7r.ade  to  see, 
reason  is  restored,  and  happiness  prolonged. 

The  business  world  watches  with  strained  intensity 
over  the  progress  in  ship  buying  and  navy  building,  the 
improvements  in  bridges  and  tunnels,  and  the  march  of 
science,  the  new  needs  and  uses  of  fuel,  the  abatement 
of  smoke,  and  the  purity  of  drugs  and  food  supplies.  In 
the  world  of  dangers  from  unseen  sources  the  scientist 
may  well  say,  with  Aggasiz :  "I  have  no  time  to  make 
money ;"  yet  he  draws  a  yearly  salary  equal  to  that  paid 
the  President. 

And  what  arc  we  all  coming  to  when  Attorney  Dill 
can  earn  a  million  by  settling  a  single  chancery  suit. 
And  Morgan  may  draw  twenty  millions  by  two  millions 
invested,  and  Rockefeller  may  mark  up  his  oil  holdings 
two  millions  during  his  dinner  hour,  and  Twain  can  turn 
bankruptcy  to  fortune  with  a  trip  under  the  equator? 

Then  the  value  of  man  is  in  himself! 

Do  men  doubt  the  value  of  leadership  in  business  any 
longer?  (They  are  the  range-finders  of  business  chances.) 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  I IO, 

If  so,  thev  may  look  toward  Frick  and  Schwab  in  the 
>tee!  works,  to  Hill,  Dupont  and  Haves  in  railroading, 
to  the  giants  in  finance  and  shipbuilding,  and  learn  from 
cither  and  all  of  them,  and  their  associates,  the  value  of 
a  man  who  can  stand  the  sharp  strain  of  competition  with 
the  nations  who  covet  and  envy  American  enterprise  and 
American  progress,  which  is  another  name  for  American 
genius,  that  knows  no  surrender! 

Man's  value  is  in  his  work,  his  skill,  his  art,  genius, 
wisdom,  his  plans  perfected,  instructions  followed,  the 
confidence  he  secures,  the  influence  he  exerts,  the  good 
he  accomplishes  by  unselfish  actions,  the  sum  of  happi- 
ness he  furnishes  to  others  less  fortunate,  the  life-work 
he  leaves  as  his  monument. 

STICK  TO  IT. 

At  the  dedication  of  Bunker  Hill  Monument  the  crowd 
pressed  hard  on  the  grandstand  and  speakers'  platform. 
Crowds  of  people  had  come  from  many  cities — Hart- 
ford, Albany,  New  York,  and  Springfield — till  the  throng 
in  Boston  was  of  large  proportions,  threatening  the 
safety  of  thousands  at  the  grandstand.  The  chairman, 
being  unable  to  preserve  order,  requested  Mr.  Webster, 
the  orator  of  the  occasion,  to  urge  the  surging  mass  to 
fall  back  for  their  own  safety. 

The  matchless  orator  stepped  forward,  and  raising 
his  strong  hand  to  the  audience,  said :  "Your  chairman 
requests  that  you  fall  back  a  little  for  your  own  safety !" 
"From  the  right,  the  left,  and  the  middle  came  the  quick 
answer:  "It  is  impossible.  We  are  wedged  in.  It  is 
impossible,  Mr.  Webster.    We  cannot  fall  back!" 

To  an  ordinary  speaker  this  answer  would  end  the  urg- 
ing, but  not  with  Daniel  Webster.     He  raised  himself 


120  STICK    TO    IT. 

taller  and  stronger,  and  with  both  hands  uplifted  said,  in 
his  Websterian  tones:  "Impossible!  Impossible!  To 
Americans  at  Bunker  Hill  nothing  was  impossible.  Fall 
back!"    And  they  fell  back  as  from  a  cannon's  shot. 

To  the  average  young  man  who  has  first  learned  what 
very  many  will  learn  early  by  experience,  that  banks  and 
stores  and  shops  and  professions  are  not  at  all  anxious 
to  engage  his  services  when  fresh  from  the  High  School 
or  college,  trials  will  come  like  crowds  at  the  monu- 
ment, and  require  a  Websterian  determination  to  force 
them  back  by  his  own  heroic  energy  to  make  room  for 
himself. 

In  the  Story  of  Our  Country  are  hundreds  of  cases 
like  the  one  given,  where  only  by  some  master  hand  and 
superior  energy  could  opposition  be  overcome  and  turned 
backward.  Columbus  met  it  and  refused  to  turn  back- 
ward. Washington,  after  seven  years  of  hardship  in 
camp  life,  with  hungry  men,  ill  clad,  without  means  or 
resources,  met  with  wolves  and  wild  men,  matched  by  an 
enemy  superior  in  numbers  in  a  bieak  and  almost  barren 
country,  could  have  said:  "It  is  impossible,  we  are 
wedged  in ;  we  are  hungry,  cold  and  famishing.  It  is 
wiser  to  surrender.  You  have  done  nobly ;  I  thank  you. 
Go  to  your  homes,  and  may  God  bless  you!"  But,  Web- 
ster-like, nothing  seemed  impossible  to  Washington  and 
other  patriotic  Americans  in  their  struggle  for  liberty 
— noiv  our  liberty! 

Lincoln  was  met  by  a  divided  country.  The  hardships 
of  his  soldiers  were  unequaled  in  all  history — in  Libby, 
in  the  Wilderness,  at  Andersonville.  One-half  of  his 
countrymen  said:  "It  is  impossible;  it  is  impossible!" 
But,  Wrebster-like,  the  plain  man  looked  far  ahead  of 
others  into  the  deep  future,  saying:  "To  Americans,  in 
their  effort  to  save  their  country,  nothing  is  impossible !" 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  121 

And  he  gave  us  a  free  and  united  country. 

A  thousand  of  such  examples,  like  Franklin  at  the 
Court  of  France,  Grant  at  Vicksburg,  Hooker  at  Look- 
out Mountain,  Sheridan  at  Winchester,  Field  with  the 
Atlantic  cable,  Edison  in  his  patient  endurance  (thirty 
hours  at  a  time),  a  life  of  patience — in-  fact  every  great 
deed  that  has  been  done  for  our  country,  teaches  the 
lesson  of  Stick  to  It.  Hold  On.  Be  Heroic.  Be  Stead- 
fast.    Don't  Surrender. 

Inventors  have  learned  it,  spending  years  to  discover 
the  twine  binder  for  reapers,  the  lock-stitch  for  the 
sewing  machine,  the  automatic  printing  press,  the  process 
of  turning  iron  into  armor-plate,  the  storage  battery,  the 
trolley  car,  the  weaving  loom,  the  marvelous  shoe  ma- 
chine, and  the  ocean  steamer.  The  inventors  of  all  these, 
and  of  thousands  of  other  improvements,  who  have  added 
untold  wealth  to  our  count' y  and  happiness  to  her  people, 
were  men  who  practiced  the  art  which  crowrds  back 
opposition  and  says:   Stick  to  It! 

From  every  story,  legend,  picture  or  illustration  will 
shine  forth  the  lesson  of  boys'  and  girls'  heroic  start  in 
life,  of  the  elements  that  make  men  and  women  and 
■create  opportunities,  that  enforce  attention  by  the  lessons 
of  life  in  practical  examples.  In  short,  lessons  that  speak 
in  pictures,  reason  in  allegories,  and  hang  their  con- 
clusions like  maps  in  the  memory,  to  remain  there 
forever. 

OUR  OPPORTUNITY. 

George  Eliot  said :  "The  delightful  first  experience  in 
anything  takes  on  a  hue  that  is  never  attained  by  any 
after  repetition  of  the  same."  And  Dr.  Oliver  Wendell 
Holmes  said:    "It  is  faith  in  something,  it  is    hope    in 


122  OUR    OPPORTUNITY. 

something,  it  is  enthusiasm  for  something  that  makes 
life  enjoyable,  after  all."  Mathew  Arnold  said.  "Most 
of  us  are  what  we  must  be,  not  what  we  should  be,  not 
even  "what  we  know  we  ought  to  be!" 

Opportunity  means  a  Chance.  It  requires  a  long  look 
ahead,  a  forecast  of  the  future.  It  is  shown  by  a  picture 
in  an  Eastern  art  gallery,  in  a  likeness  of  a  strong  young 
man  about  to  run  a  race,  with  feet  braced,  arms  drawn 
backward,  head  erect ;  around  the  head,  almost  conceal- 
ing the  eyes,  is  a  hood,  or  turban,  like  those  worn  in 
India ;  on  either  arm  a  wing,  on  the  feet  broad  webs. 
Asked  what  all  this  means,  the  guide  answered:  "Op- 
portunity." But  why  the  hood  around  the  head,  half 
concealing  the  eyes?  "Opportunity  is  never  seen  full 
face ;  it  is  only  a  glimpse  we  get  of  it,  in  any  case." 
And  why  the  wings  on  the  arms?  "Why,  Opportunity 
goes  on  wings ;  once  gone,  it  is  gone  forever."  Why  are 
the  webs  upon  the  feet?  "Opportunity  is  found  upon 
the  water  as  well  as  on  the  land." 

Any  Chance  now? 

Draw  a  circle  in  any  large  city  of  our  country  and  in 
the  half-mile  are  ten  times  more  stores,  shops,  banks, 
offices,  industries  that  employ  men,  women,  boys  and 
girls,  money  and  genius  than  the  same  circle  con- 
tained thirty-five  years  ago :  while  the  mile  and  two-mile 
circle  is  crowded  full  of  factories  for  stoves,  cars,  steel 
and  copper  works  of  still  larger  capacity,  very  many  of 
which  have  developed  within  the  last  quarter  century, 
and  nearly  all  have  grown  up,  like  their  proprietors,  from 
a  very  limited  capital  and  a  small  beginning,  and  in 
which  every  year  are  changes  and  promotions,  openings 
and  opportunities  for  the  brighter,  keener  and  more  alert 
to  fill  higher  positions. 

Very  recently  in  the  Carnegie  Steel  Works,  new  part- 


- 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  I 23 

ners  to  the  number  of  thirty  odd  have  been  added  to 
the  managers,  and  nearly  half  of  the  number  are  already 
millionaires — all  having  worked  up  from  the  bottom  of 
the  ladder. 

Any  new  chance?  Did  we  ever  hear  thirty-five  years 
ago  of  a  shoe  machine  making  at  a  capacitv  of  thirty- 
two  pairs  a  day  per  man,  and  needle  machines  o  make 
two  pairs  a  day  per  man,  and  needle  machines  to  make 
hand  labor  ?  Can  we  dream  of  the  vast  increase  in  cars, 
harvesters  and  trolley  lines  for  the  past  half  century  ? 

Any  chance  left?  In  the  legal  world  a  $100,000  fee 
is  unnoticed.  A  million  dollars  is  paid  to  one  man  for 
adjusting  a  single  dispute  in  a  steel  works;  $100,000  a 
year  is  paid  to  its  managers,  while  $50,000  a  year  for 
railway  presidents  excites  no  comment,  and  the  people 
who  travel  live  at  ease,  enjoy  luxury,  attain  places  in  the 
Senate,  as  Governors  and  high  stations  are  not  all  law- 
yers— very  many  are  farmers,  and  the  sons  of  farmers ; 
master  builders,  mine  owners,  inventors  and  men  who 
develop  the  industries  of  our  marvelous  country. 

On  the  water  and  on  the  land,  yes,  the  tremendous 
growth  of  foreign  shipping,  ocean  steamers,  vessel  syn- 
dicates, and  the  mighty  war  ships,  call  for  skill  upon  the 
ocean  as  well  as  on  the  land ;  and  from  all  these  vast 
enterprises  every  third  of  a  century  the  average  force  is 
called  away  by  changes,  death  or  accident,  and  others 
march  in  and  take  their  places,  and  only  those  who  watch 
for  opportunities  will  find  them.  They  are  hooded  to  the 
eyes  by  strange  surroundings. 

Alexander  the  Great,  on  seeing  the  runners  contest 
in  the  arena,  said:  "If  princes  only  were  my  competitors, 
I  would  enter  the  arena  and  run,"  and  added,  "for  I  have 
noticed  that  the  prizes  of  life  are  all  given  to  those  who 
enter  the  arena  and  run,  and  not  to  those  zvho  stand 


124  OUR    OPPORTUNITY. 

looking  on  from  the  outer  side." 

The  prizes  in  the  arena  are  especially  open  to  the 
young  and  vigorous  of  today,  and  those  who  compote 
need  fear  no  rush  if  all  are  not  princes  as  competitors. 
"See'st  thou  a  man  diligent  in  business,  he  shall  stand 
before  kings,"  said  the  wise  man.  Into  the  palace  of 
the  King  went  the  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  New 
York ;  into  the  presence  of  the  King  may  go  every 
learned  teacher,  every  eloquent  speaker,  every  eminent 
inventor,  every  sweet  singer,  every  sterling  reformer. 
There  is  no  station  that  genius  will  not  reach ;  there  is 
no  place  higher  than  Americans  attain.  Would  Dewey, 
Sampson,  Bryan,  McKinley,  Edison,  Phillips-Brooks 
tremble  in  the  presence  of  a  King?  Hardly,  when  they 
are  Kings  in  their  line  and  vocation. 

To  be  a  young  man  today  and  enjoy  such  chances  is 
the  grandest  opportunity.  It  is  an  Era  of  Chance-  !  To 
be  a  boy  at  twenty  is  to  have  fifty  years  of  opportunity. 
To  be  a  boy  of  fifteen  means  55  years  of  the  best  thing 
on  earth — Time.  Time  to  build  a  business,  time  to  estab- 
lish a  character,  time  to  reach  a  rank  in  life  worthy  of 
effort.  Time  is  an  era  of  the  world's  greatest  progress. 
Nor  need  one  batter  away  with  his  brain  en  some  ex- 
ploded theory  of  aeriel  navigation,  or  perpetual  motion, 
or  hunting  for  buried  treasures.  Take  up  something 
practical.  The  farmer's  experience  will  illustrate :  While 
rowing  a  professor  across  a  little  lake  to  a  Ashing  point 
the  professor,  to  show'off,  inquired:  "Did  yon  ever  study 
astronomy?"  "No,"  said  the  farmer.  "I  am  sorry,"  said 
the  professor ;  "one-quarter  of  your  life  is  lost  by  not 
knowing  about  the  location  of  the  stars."  And  the  farmer 
merely  answered:  "So!"  and  rowed  along  with  increased 
vigor.  Again  the  professor  asked :  "Did  you  ever  study 
the  sciences?"     "No,"  said  the  farmer,  "been  too  busy 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  125 

making  a  living  to  bother  about  it."  "I  am  sorry  to  say," 
said  the  professor,  "another  quarter  of  your  life  has  been 
wasted.  But  I  suppose  you  have  studied  art?"  "What 
is  that?"  said  the  farmer.  "Why,  painting,  statuary,  and 
the  like."  "No,"  said  the  farmer  (rowing  with  great 
vigor,  for  a  storm  was  rising).  "No,  I  have  been  too 
busy."  "Three-quarters  of  your  life  has  been  lost,"  said 
the  professor.  "So?"  said  the  farmer.  Just  then  the  boat 
nearly  upset  by  the  high  waves,  and  the  farmer  said : 
"Say,  my  friend,  did  you  ever  learn  to  szvimf"  "No," 
said  the  professor.  "Then  I'm  awfully  sorry  for  vou." 
said  the  farmer.  "Your  whole  life  is  likely  to  be  lost  bv 
not  knowing  something  useful !" 

That  is  the  key  to  the  chances  of  today.  Do  some- 
thing useful ;  learn  to  do  things,  and  to  do  them  well — 
to  master  the  theme,  the  trade,  the  calling,  whatever  it 
is,  to  be  an  artist  with  a  finished  product  to  offer  instead 
of  raw  material. 

TIME  IS  OPPORTUNITY. 

It  will  never  do  to  rely  on  the  genius  of  others  or  on 
accident  for  daily  bread,  for  the  others  may  fail  or  forget 
to  provide  us  all  we  need.  It  is  far  better  to  use  forecast 
— a  long  look  ahead — and  provide  for  our  future  by 
some  effort  of  our  own.  Edison  truly  said :  "Genius  is 
98  per  cent,  sweat,  only  2  per  cent,  accident.  He  works 
nineteen  hours  a  day,  and  sometimes  stays  at  his  lab- 
oratory for  thirty  hours  together.  He  has  worked  more 
hours  than  any  man  of  his  age,  and  won  fame  more 
valuable  and  lasting  fame  than  the  millions  of  Vander- 
bilts.  His  last  saying  will  be  immortal :  "The  greatest 
thing  of  all  is  time."  That  is  what  all  young  people 
possess. 


126  TIME    IS    OPPORTUNITY. 

George  Eliot  has  spoken  of  "the  delightful  first  ex- 
perience in  anything  that  takes  on  a  hue  never  attained 
by  any  repetition  of  the  same."  So  it  is  the  start  that  is 
all-important.  Schwab  speaks  of  forty  leading  million- 
aires (we  have  nearly  5,000  now),  who  all  began  work 
and  worked  up.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  three-fourths  of 
all  the  great  men  were  self-trained  in  their  life  work ; 
that  many  of  them  struggled,  like  Edison,  and  that  few 
•ever  found  crocks  of  gold  like  the  Astor  ancestors,  to 
invest  in  city  lands  and  hase  the  land  on  long  time — 
where  a  city  grew  up  on  the  lots  and  made  generations 
of  millionaires. 

It  was  David  Ward  who,  as  a  pine-land  buyer  for  his 
rich  brother,  located  a  few  hundred  acres  for  himself, 
and  from  it  reaped  a  rich  harvest  of  pine,  and  later 
bought  coal  fields  with  the  proceeds,  and  later  still  drew 
a  royalty  of  $90,000  a  year  from  his  coal  lands.  But  one 
thing  he  had  not.  At  seventy-five,  when  taken  ill,  he 
asked  his  physician :  "Can  you  pull  me  through,  Doc- 
tor?" "I  will  try,"  said  Di.  Galbreth.  But  he  could  not. 
"I  want  a  few  years  more  time,"  said  Ward,  "to  com- 
plete my  plans."  So  said  Governor  Pingree :  "Give  me 
two  more  years'  time,  and  I  will  pass  away  contented." 
The  one  thing  that  the  young  possess  is  time.  Time  to 
look  ahead,  to  plan,  to  execute,  to  struggle,  time  to 
think,  to  invent,  to  establish  a  business,  to  learn  a  trade 
or  profession — to  do  something  for  yourself.  The  great- 
est industries  of  our  country  have  grown  from  the  intense 
energy  of  their  founders.  It  was  Carnegie's  pluck  and 
forecast  to  buy  up  iron  and  steel  works  that  gave  him 
control  of  the  great  Bessemer  process  of  turning  earth 
into  money  by  melting,  mixing  and  treating  iron  ore  into 
steel  billets  for  tools,  steel  buildings,  and  armor-plate — 
50  cents  per  ton  in  Lake  Superior  county,  $465.00  per 


ART     OF    ADVOCATES.  127 

ton  in  armor-plate. 

But  the  genius  who  invents  the  process  is  most  deserv- 
ing of  the  honor  for  the  growth  of  the  steel  and  iron  and 
tea-rails  and  armor-plate  industry.  The  same  is  true  of 
plows,  harvesters,  shoes,  needles,  sewing  machines  and 
modern  machinery  for  weaving,  spinning  and  cotton- 
picking.  The  genius  of  Americans  is  the  key  to  our 
prosperity.  Genius  is  rareiy  found  among  the  rich.  Its 
percentage  of  struggle  is  too  large  for  comfort  until 
middle  life.  We  know  well  that  in  war  there  are  few 
victories  due  to  accident.  Dewey  learned  his  tactics  in 
the  battle  with  Farrugut.  His  range  finders  had  been 
tested  long  before  his  Manilla  victory,  and  the  Czar's 
coronation,  when,  ninth  in  line,  he  steamed  through  the 
narrow  channel,  ordering  Gridley  to  fire  right  and  left, 
while  the  Olympia  zvas  in  rapid  motion,  hitting  every 
target,  to  the  •  wonder  of  all  zvitnesses,  and  winning  a 
victory  over  nations  of  skill  and  experience. 

We  all  know  how  Sampson  drilled  the  trained  veterans, 
Evans,  Schley,  Phillips,  and  Wainwright,  over  and  over 
again  on  board  the  New  York,  in  his  "School  of  Officers," 
while  others  were  fast  asleep ;  how,  by  double  search- 
light and  double-guards  and  ready  steam,  and  prepared- 
ness of  his  men,  he  shelled  and  sunk  the  great  Spanish 
fleet  that  had  crossed  the  ocean  to  lay  waste  our  cities 
along  the  seacoast  and  destroy  our  honor  as  a  nation. 
But  by  preparedness  of  men,  of  arms,  of  guns,  of  brains, 
and  of  courage,  we  won  the  greatest,  quickest,  grandest 
naval  victory  that  the  world  ever  knew !  As  all  great 
men  and  women  become  so  by  degrees,  by  struggle,  by 
energy,  by  forecast,  so,  when  their  experience  becomes 
wisdom,  their  fame  becomes  certain 

We  all  remember  when  Garfield  was  fatally  shot,  in  the 
summer  of  '81,  how  he  was  taken  to  the  seashore  on  a 


128  TIME    IS    OPPORTUNITY. 

special  road  in  a  special  car,  and  how  one  day,  the  pulse 
and  temperature  becoming  alarming,  someone  said: 
"Who  is  the  most  skillful  surgeon?"  And  Dr.  Agnew 
was  hurried  on  an  engine  from  Philadelphia  How  he 
used  his  great  skill  and  wisdom,  listening,  detecting,  and 
winding  his  lancet  he  quickly  plunged  it  to  the  real  seat 
of  the  danger,  and  out  came  a  half-bowl  full  of  accumu- 
lation. The  fevered  brain  grew  cooler,  the  pulse  more 
normal.  The  President  lived  many  weeks  to  attest  the 
skill  of  Agnew.  who,  with  the  aid  of  X-rays,  could  have 
doubtless  saved  the  life  of  the  distinguished  patient.  We 
know  of  the  marvelous  skill  of  McKinley's  physicians. 

You  know  of  General  Grant's  affliction  with  a  cancer 
— how  it  broke  one  morning,  his  eyes  turned  glassy  and 
limbs  grew  rigid,  till  men  said :  "The  great  soldier  has 
gone  to  his  reward."  But  Dr.  Douglas  was  not  so  cer- 
tain; with  his  hypodermic  treatment  in  the  arms  and 
neck,  and  over  the  heart,  the  heat  returned,  the  eyelids 
moved,  the  spirit  returned.  Grant  lived !  He  lived  to 
write  the  closing  chapters  of  his  brilliant  book,  which 
will  pass  down  the  ages  with  the  works  of  Macauley, 
Addison,  Emerson,  and  Hugo,  one  of  the  gems  of 
American  literature.    ■ 

Dr.  Chapman  writes  that  on  the  way  home  from  New 
Orleans,  a  tall,  middle-aged  man  looked  out  of  the  car 
window  as  a  bell  rang  for  each  station,  till  someone  ob- 
served :  "You  seem  greatly  interested  in  this  country." 
"I  am,"  said  the  stranger ;  "I  have  been  blind  twenty 
years.  I  heard  of  a  celebrated  physician  in  New  Or- 
leans who  has  restored  my  lost  sight.  I  am  nearing 
home  now.  I  have  not  seen  my  wife  for  twenty  years. 
Two  of  my  children  were  born  since  my  blindness.  They 
must  be  beautiful,  for  their  mother  is."  Just  then  the 
bell  rang.     The  tall  man  hurried  down  the  car  steps  and 


ART     OF    ADVOCATES.  120, 

two  arms  went  around  his  neck,  two  girls  stood  by  his 
side  crying  for  joy,  and  we  all  looked  away.  The  scene 
was  too  touching  to  witness. 

Oh !  to  have  the  genius  of  Edison  to  control  light,  and 
Bessemer  to  control  steel,  and  McKay  to  make  shoes,  or 
McCormick  to  build  reapers,  or  Agnew  and  Douglas  to 
heal  the  sick,  and,  above  all,  to  have  wisdom,  born  of 
long  practice,  to  relieve  pain,  to  restore  life,  to  prolong 
time. 

In  the  struggle  for  bread  we  must  follow  many  callings, 
pursue  many  ways  and  means  of  earning  a  livelihood, 
but  the  chances  were  never  so  many,  the  farms  are 
cleared,  the  means  are  abundant,  the  trolley,  the  phone, 
the  stores,  the  factories,  the  steamships,  the  cars,  the 
mines,  the  fruit  farms,  and  endless  inventions  of  the  age 
are  today  managed  by  the  brainiest  men  and  women  of 
the  world's  history. 

THE   WORLD  IS  LARGER. 

The  world  is  larger  to  educated,  thinking  men  and 
women  today — larger  than  it  ever  was  before.  It  is 
larger  to  a  man  like  Edison,  who  gave  us  new  light,  new 
power,  new  sounds  of  voices  far  away,  that  we  may  hear 
in  ages  yet  to  come. 

The  world  is  larger  since  Bessemer  invented  steel  to 
build  our  navies,  bridges  over  rivers  make  long  lines 
of  railway  over  leagues  of  land,  tunnels  under  water, 
and  arches  under  city  streets,  and  towering  buildings  up 
toward  the  sky. 

The  world  is  larger  to  a  man  like  Stanley,  hewing  his 
way  across  the  Dark  Continent,  bearing  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  opening  a  highway  for  commerce  as  he  went; 
larger  to  a  doctor  like  Lorenz,  who  takes  the  little  crip- 


I30  THE    WORLD    IS     LARGER. 

pled  children  in  his  arms  and  bids  them  stand  erect  and 
walk,  hands  them  to  their  parents  strong  and  well,  and 
turns  their  pain  to  happiness. 

The  world  is  larger  since  we  took  the  Philippines — 
larger  to  men  who  helped,  though  but  a  hundred  days, 
to  give  new  life  and  liberty  to  such  a  race ;  a  larger  world 
to  Dewey,  Sampson,  Schley  and  Taft,  larger  since  we 
talk  across  the  oceans  with  the  electric  wires ;  larger  for 
our  ocean  ships,  those  mighty  palaces  across  the  deep ! 

The  world  is  larger  to  the  little  Japs,"  whose  art  and 
skill  has  overmatched  an  army  far  beyond  their  own,  by 
using  brains  behind  their  guns  in  war.  And  so,  to  every- 
one who  thinks  and  acts  and  does  some  worthy  deed  to 
benefit  mankind,  the  world  keeps  growing  larger  year 
l)y  year.  To  those  whose  vision  spans  all  great  events 
the  world  is  large  and  little  to  the  selfish  and  the  small. 

The  world  is  larger  to  the  young  man,  with  his  sixty 
years  ahead,  in  such  a  brilliant  era  as  is  ours  to-day. 
With  Time,  the  greatest  thing  on  earth,  in  which  to 
build  a  character,  create  a  name,  establish  business  and 
make  a  mark,  Oh,  that  the  young  might  start  in  time, 
and  think  out  problems  that  will  earn  them  fame  and 
throw  new  light  on  problems  waiting  to  be  solved. 

To  live  in  such  a  world  today  is  luxury.  I  would 
rather  be  an  inventor  like  Edison,  and  struggle  for  years 
as  he  has  done,  long  hours  in  dusty  blouse,  and  earn  the 
name  he  has,  than  own  the  wealth  of  Rockefeller.  Nor 
would  I  trade  the  name  of  Bessemer  to  a  holder  of  the 
mighty  Steel  Trust !  I  would  rather  be  the  genius  of 
the  printing  press  than  owner  of  the  longest  railway  in 
the  world !  And  all  these  men  were  thinkers  and  strug- 
elcrs  at  the  start. 


ART    OF     ADVOCATES.  131 

McKINLEY'S  MURDER. 
Oral   Fair  Ground  Talk — Half  Day   Notice. 

We  have  been  brought  into  the  immediate  presence  of 
death,  by  the  terrible  tragedy  at  Buffalo — a  tragedy  that 
has  never  been  equalled  in  our  country,  and  only  equalled 
by  the  Passion  play  in  its  present  illustration.  Every 
actor  was  a  star;  every  scene  a  climax.  Even  the  villain 
■excelled  all  other  villains  ever  placed  upon  the  stage. 
While  the  real  actor  in  the  scene  was  only  equalled  by 
the  scene  of  the  crucifixion. 

McKinley's   farewell   to   his   friends,  and  his   doctors 
was  almost  like  the  farewell  of  the  Saviour. 
"I  am  in  your  hands,  His  will  be  done." 
In  this  we  see  that 

Death   rides   on   every  passing  breeze, 
And  lurks  in  every  flower, 
Each  season  has  its  own  disease, 
Its  peril  every  hour.     *     *     * 
Leaves  have  their  time  to  fall, 
And  flowers  to  wither  at  the  north  winds  breath 
And  stars  to  set,  and  all 
Thou  hast  all  seasons  for  thine  own 
()  Death!— 
Lowell  has  said, 

Life  is  a  sheet  of  paper  white, 
On  which  each  one  may  write  his  line  or  two, 
And  then  comes  night. 
Brief  as  life  is,  we  always  wish  to  have  a  few  moments 
at  the  end  to  arrange  the  drapery  of  our  spirits,  before 
they    enter    into    that    journey    of    the    great    unknown 
•eternity. 

This  boon  was  denied  the  President.  In  his  case,  his 
affairs  were  well  arranged.     The  drapery  of  the  spirit 


132  M  KINLEY  S    MURDER. 

was  in  order;  he  had  but  to  say,  to  his  doctors,  when 
placed  upon  the  table,  "I  am  in  your  hands  gentlemen ;  I 
am  ready ;  His  will  be  done." 

Nothing  in  all  history  has  surpassed  the  silent,  patient 
suffering,  the  splendid  resignation  of  McKinley. 

Few  men  have  lived  so  blameless  a  life.  Few  men 
had  so  won  the  love  of  men  and  women.  He  was  a  model 
husband.  Wherever  he  went,  he  seemed  to  have  taken 
the  invalid  wife  by  the  hand,  and  tenderly  led  her ;  not 
only  seemed,  but  did  so  regard  her.  Their  lives  are 
models  of  manhood  and  womanhood  to  the  American 
people. 

The  parting  of  the  President  and  his  companion  will 
go  down  into  history  as  a  touching  surrender  to  the  will 
of  Heaven,  "His  will  be  done."  No  evidence  of  dread. 
No  evidence  of  fear  of  the  unknown  future. 

There  is  but  one  character  like  it  in  nil  history,  the 
character  of  Cyrus.  The  character  described  by  Zeno- 
phon  who  said,  in  the  words  of  Cyrus,  "I  had  a  vision  in 
the  night,  an  angel  touched  me  while  asleep,  saying, 
Cyrus,  prepare,  the  end  is  near.  And  I  am  prepared. 
Have  I  not  rewarded  my  friends,  and  punished  my 
enemies.  I  am  prepared  but  when  I  am  gone,  let  no 
man  speak  of  me  as  dead — Cyrus  will  not  be  dead ;  He 
will  be  living  with  the  gods,  above  the  sun,  among  the 
stars .  McKinley  is  not  dead ;  he  is  living  somewhere 
in  the  great  eternity.  We  wish  that  he  might  linger  a 
little  while  to  see  the  exhibitions  of  affection  of  his 
countrymen  before  he  took  his  departure  for  the  great 
unknown . 

What  are  the  conditions  that  brought  about  such  an 
atrocious  murder !  Not  the  training  in  the  public  schools. 
Not  the  liberty  loving  subjects  of  our  laws.  They  are 
of  those  who  hate  the  laws.     They  are  people  who  hate 


ART    OF     ADVOCATES.  133 

the  rich.  Just  the  opposite  of  what  we  teach  in  the 
schools,  of  what  we  teach  in  government;  of  what  we 
urge ;  onward  to  prosperity,  to  go  onward,  to  better  the 
conditions  of  our  children. 

They  who  contradict  all  we  try  to  teach ;  aU  we  enforce, 
would  simply  destroy  the  laws.  The  condition  that 
brought  about  this, — the  condition  of  anarchy  is  danger- 
ous. What  have  the  schools  and  churches,  the  courts, 
and  laws  done  for  this  country  that  they  should  be 
destroyed?  Started  by  the  little  faithful  band,  on  the 
bleak  New  England  shores,  they  established  churches, 
built  homes,  and  created  schools,  held  town  meetings, 
made  laws,  built  cities,  established  order ;  taught  the  pur- 
suit of  happiness  and  the  punishment  of  crime.  They 
blazed  their  way,  like  a  wave  of  light,  clearing  the 
forests,  building  the  railways ;  making  the  country  blos- 
som like  a  garden,  for  whom?  Not  for  one  alone,  but 
for  all ;  not  for  the  rich  alone,  but  for  all. 

Not  to  protect  one  alone,  but  to  protect  all . 

In  the  shadow  of  a  horrible  deed,  I  bring  you  the 
living  presence  of  a  great  character.  I  hold  him  up  as 
an  example  of  our  institutions.  Behold  the  man !  And 
in  him,  behold  the  government.  The  type  of  our  free 
institutions ;  the  climax  of  our  advancement ;  the  em- 
bodiment of  our  laws,  I  bring  you  the  presence  of  the 
murderer  Czolgosz,  one  whom  the  people  despise.  Why 
the  thugs  of  India  were  so  vile,  that  while  they  were  fed 
by  the  missionaries,  and  the  white  travelers,  part  of  their 
number  nearby,  kindled  the  fire  under  the  cauldron  to 
boil  the  victims,  and  to  feed  upon  their  bodies,  while  they 
were  being  fed  by  them.  In  mockery  of  a  cripple 
Czolgosz  did  as  much — I  bring  you  the  presence  of  this 
vile  character .  In  his  planning  to  kill ;  in  his  schemes 
to  destroy.    This  arch  anarchist,  and  his  associate,  Emma 


134  THE    THUGS    WERE     NO    NOISE. 

Goldman.  I  hold  them  up  to  ridicule,  ana  scorn;  to 
infamy,  to  disgrace.  Emma  Goldman,  the  accomplice 
before  the  fact  equally  guilty  in  the  destruction  of  Mc- 
Kinley's  life. 

THE   THUGS   W ERE   NO    WORSE. 

These  are  in  contrast  to  the  pure  life  of  a  soldier  with 
the  honors  of  a  congressman,  with  the  fitness  of  a  ruler. 
This  one  whose  life  they  have  taken  away.  Part  of  his 
life  was  given  up  to  war ;  part  of  it  to  statecraft,  a  large 
part  of  it  to  his  family,  and  much  remains  to  his  country. 
The  influence,  the  unexpressed  influence  of  a  pure  and 
noble  life  I  leave  you  in  the  presence  of  these. 

I  bring  you  again  by  this  short  simple  story  into  the 
living  presence  of  a  great  character.  A  well  rounded 
manly  man,  of  clear  forecaste,  trained  in  peace,  war  and 
wisdom.  Careful,  just  refined  and  considerate.  A  man 
who  filled  a  large  space  in  diplomacy,  in  the  confidence 
of  all  nations.  Whose  life  was  more  than  blameless,  it 
was  the  life  of  an  unselfish,  Christian  statesman.  Whose 
idols  were  his  God,  his  country  and  his  family.  I  ask 
you  fathers,  to  hold  up  this  character  to  your  sons.  I 
ask  you  mothers  to  name  his  household  as  a  model  to 
your  daughters,  and  I  appeal  to  you  young  men  to  follow 
his  excellent  example.  And  you  young  women  to  look 
at  the  character  of  his  bereaved  and  noble  widow ;  and 
to  all,  we  can  say,  McKinley  has  fought  a  good  fight,, 
henceforth  is  laid  up  for  him  an  immortal  crown  of 
honor . 

WHAT  IS  A  BOOK? 

A  number  of  thoughts  that  may  have  used,  one  has 
collected,  and  a  house  has  made  in  one  volume.     It  may 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  135 

be  of  travel,  of  life,  of  medicine,  law,  of  ethics  or  a  series 
of  things  that  men  speak  of  every  day  and  would  gladly 
refer  to,  and  yet  live  on  and  on  regardless  of  their  value 
till  some  simple  story  of  the  self  same  thing  brings  out  a 
Wiggs  Cabbage  Patch — a  Ben  Hur — or  a  Bitter  Sweet. 

A  book  is  a  part  of  one  who  makes  it.  It  takes  on  a 
little  of  his  humor,  his  taste,  his  likes  and  dislikes,  his 
genius,  if  he  has  it,  his  art  of  expression — or  lack  of  art 
in  expressing  his  ideals. 

A  book  is  a  risky  venture .  It  is  liable  to  ridicule,  to 
criticism,  to  censure  and  even  to  slander.  But  a  book 
of  good  thoughts,  whether  original  or  selected,  is  a  refer- 
ence to  prompt  and  inspire  thoughts  of  our  own  when 
most  needed. 

A  book  is  an  answer  to  the  query :  What  shall  one  do 
to  zvin  his  place  in  life,  in  law  or  in  business?  Every 
item,  every  story,  every  legend,  every  example  is  a 
thought,  a  lesson,  an  instruction  to  lead  a  reader  to  a 
line  of  thinking  that  may  be  invaluable.  Books  must  be 
well  read  to  be  realized .  A  casual  glance  will  not  answer. 
Like  a  law  suit,  a  book  must  be  studied.  Its  parts  are 
like  the  parts  of  a  machine,  they  only  harmonize  when 
placed  with  other  sections. 

The  power  of  words  without  the  life  of  one  to  give 
them  energy  by  delivery  is  lacking.  The  power  can  be 
gained  only  by  study.  Put  yourself  in  the  place  of  a 
writer,  and  notice  his  meaning.  Can  you  realize  the 
scene  lately  pictured  of  the  operation  of  Dr.  Agnew  on 
President  Garfield?  Only  a  student  can  seize  such  ex- 
amples. Here  is  a  great  character — a  Chief  Magistrate 
of  a  mighty  nation  in  agony :  It  is  three  o'clock ;  the 
pulse  grows  higher  and  higher;  the  heat  is  reaching 
delirium:  "Who  is  the  best  surgeon  near  by?  asks 
Franklin.       "Old    Dr.    Agnew     of     Philadelphia/'     is 


I36  GENERAL  HARRISON'S  STYKE. 

answered.  "Send  for  him  by  wire  to  come  by  special 
engine."  And  the  vetral  surgeon  is  hurried  to  the  bed 
side.  We  can  witness  the  picture  as  men  encircle  the 
couch  of  the  suffering  president;  as  the  tall  doctor  bends 
his  trained  ear  to  the  heart's  action  and  looks  near  the 
wound  for  a  cause  of  the  heated  inflammation. — "Pre- 
pare that  place,"  says  the  surgeon.  It  is  prepared — 
meanwhile  a  cover  is  wound  on  the  lancet  in  the  hands 
of  Agnew ;  an  opening  is  made  just  deep  enough  to  let  a 
half  bowl  full  of  accumulation  from  the  throbbing  side  of 
the  President.  The  eyes  relax,  the  voice  is  feeble,  but 
it  says:  "I  am  easier."  O!  for  such  skill  in  such  an 
emergency.  But  skill  is  born  of  wisdom,  wisdom  is  born 
of  experience,  experience  is  born  of  practice,  and  to 
gain  practice — to  any  extent — one  needs  preparedness. 

GENERAL   HARRISON'S   STYLE. 

"I  have  at  my  house  an  old  engraving  that  represents 
the  first  trial  by  a  jury — an  English  picture.  The  twelve 
men  are  gathered  in  an  open  field.  No  house  encloses 
them.  It  is  a  murder  trial  that  is  represented,  but  it  is 
very  unlike  this  murder  trial.  We  see  here  the  accused 
and  her  family  gathered  about  her  weeping  and  appeal- 
ing to  the  jury  for  sympathy.  Not  so  there.  The  jury 
have  assembled  upon  the  commission  of  the  crime,  and 
the  body  of  the  dead  lies  at  their  feet  upon  a  bier.  A 
weeping  relative  of  the  deceased  bends  over  the  dead 
form,  and  her  locks  drop  upon  his  face  as  her  tears  fall 
in  her  agony  of  grief.  Another  relative  of  the  dead  man, 
stooping  over  the  lifeless  form,  points  with  one  hand  to 
the  criminal  and  with  the  other  to  the  gaping  wound  by 
which  the  life  tide  went  out.  This  was  an  old  trial  for 
murder.      I    only   ask  you  now,   as   this   group   gather 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  137 

around  you,  to  remember  the  dead  that  are  buried  away 
out  of  sight;  to  remember  the  hearth  stone  whose  fire 
has  gone  out  forever.  I  ask  you  to  remember  that 
orphan  child  who  is  wandering  fatherless  and  mother- 
less to-day.  If  any  appeal  shall  be  made  to  your  sym- 
pathies, I  ask  you  to  think  of  the  grief  that  has  come 
upon  another  household.  I  ask  you  to  think  of  that 
horrid  scene  at  "Cold  Springs/'  when  the  charred  and 
blackened  remains  of  that  woman  lay  on  the  floor,  and 
that  man  with  his  head  all  torn  and  his  teeth  bent  out  as 
if  grining  in  horrid  mirth.  I  ask  you  also  in  her  behalf, 
to  consider  these  questions  that  have  been  presented  to 
you  carefully,  honestly  and  deliberately.  If  she  is  guilty, 
speak  the  word,  if  not,  then  let  her  go  free,  and  may  the 
God  of  wisdom  lead  you  to  the  right  discharge  of  this 
duty  that  remains  to  you,  and  bring  you  to  a  right 
verdict." 


INGERSOLL    CLOSING   IN    THE   STAR   ROUTE 

CASE. 

"You  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  supposed  desire  of 
any  man,  or  supposed  desire  of  any  department  (turning 
and  addressing  his  remarks  to  the  Attorney-General),  or 
the  supposed  desire  of  any  government,  or  supposed  de- 
sire of  any  president,  or  supposed  desire  of  the  public. 
You  have  nothing  to  do  with  these  things ;  you  have  to 
do  only  with  the  evidence.  Here  all  power  is  powerless 
except  your  own.  When  asked  to  please  the  public,  you 
should  think  of  the  lives  you  are  asked  to  wreck,  of  the 
homes  your  verdict  would  darken,  of  the  hearts  it  would 
desolate  of  the  cheeks  it  would  wet  with  tears, 
of  the  characters  it  would  destroy,  of  the  wife  it 
would     worse    than     widow,    and    of    the    children     it 


I38       IXGERSOLL  CLOSING  IN  THE  STAR  ROUTE  CASE. 

would  worse  than  orphan.  When  asked  to  please  the 
public  think  of  those  consequences.  When  asked  to  act 
from  fear,  hatred,  malice  or  cowardice,  think  of  those 
consequences.  Whoever  does  right,  clothes  himself  in 
a  suit  of  armor  which  the  arrows  of  prejudice  cannot 
penetrate,  but  whoever  does  wrong  is  responsible  for  all 
the  consequences  to  the  last  sigh,  to  the  last  tear.  You 
are  told  by  Mr.  Merrick  that  you  should  have  no  sym- 
pathy, that  you  should  be  like  icicles,  that  you  should  be 
Godlike.  That  is  not  my  doctrine;  the  higher  you  get 
in  the  scale  of  being,  the  grander,  the  nobler,  the  tenderer 
you  will  become.  Kindness  is  always  an  evidence  of 
greatness.  Malice  is  the  property  of  a  small  soul,  and 
whoever  allows  the  feeling  of  brotherhood  to  die  in  his 
heart  becomes  a  wild  beast. 

"Not  a  king's  crown  nor  the  deupted  sword, 
The  marshal's  truncheon  nor  the  judge's  robe, 
Became  them  with  one-half  so  goo*d  a  grace 
As  mercy  does." 

And  yet  the  only  mercy  we  ask  is  the  mercy  of  an 
honest  verdict.  I  appeal  to  you  for  my  client,  Stephen 
W.  Dorsey,  because  the  evidence  shows  that  he  is  a  man 
with  an  intellectual  horizon  and  a  mental  skyman  of 
genius,  generous  and  honest.  Yet  this  prosecution,  this 
government,  these  attorneys,  representing  the  majesty  of 
the  republic,  representing  the  only  real  republic  that  ever 
existed,  have  asked  you  not  only  to  violate  the  law  of 
the  land,  but  also  the  law  of  nature.  They  maligned 
nature,  they  have  laughed  at  mercy,  they  have  trampled 
on  the  holiest  human  ties,  and  even  made  light  because  a 
wife  in  this  trial  has  sat  by  her  husband's  side. 

There  is  a  painting  in  the  Louvre,  a  painting  of  desola- 
tion, of  despair  and  love.  It  represents  the  "Night  of 
the  Crucifixion."    The  world  is  wrapped  in  shadow,  the 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  139 

stars  are  dead,  and  yet  in  the  darkness  is  seen  a  kneeling 
form.  It  is  Mary  Magdalen  with  loving  lips  and  hands 
pressed  against  the  bleeding  feet  of  Christ. 

The  skies  were  never  dark  enough  nor  starless  enough, 
the  storm  never  fierce  enough  nor  wild  enough,  the  quick 
bolts  of  heaven  were  never  livid  enough,  and  the  arrows 
of  slander  never  flew  thick  enough  to  drive  a  noble 
woman  from  her  husband's  side,  and  so  it  is  in  all  of 
human  speech,  the  holiest  word,  "woman." 

ARNOLD'S  ELOQUENCE. 

In  1853,  Levi  Hubbell,  Judge  of  the  Circuit  Court  for 
Milwaukee  County,  was  impeached  by  the  Assembly  for 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors  in  office.  The  charges 
were  eleven  in  number.  The  preliminary  proceedings 
occupied  six  days.  Mr.  Ryan  made  an  opening  argument 
on  all  the  charges,  occupying  nearly  the  entire  day .  Mrs. 
Hubbell  was  at  that  time  lying  ill  at  the  house  of  a  friend 
near  to  the  Capitol.  Mr.  Arnold  made  the  closing  argu- 
ment for  the  defense,  occupying  an  entire  day,  and  con- 
cluded as  follows : 

"And,  in  yonder  cottage,  almost  within  the  hearing  of 
my  voice,  there  is  yet  another  who  is  waiting,  with  in- 
tense solicitude,  the  result  of  your  deliberations.  She 
waits,  in  unshaken  confidence  and  devoted  love,  for  the 
accused.  She  is  in  deed,  as  well  as  in  law,  the  wife  of 
her  husband,  and  she  would  clasp  that  man  to  her  breast, 
though  her  arm  were  in  a  flame  of  living  fire  till  it  burned 
to  its  very  socket ;  her  prayers  are  all  around  you — her 
hopes  are  all  dependent  on  you.  On  bended  knee,  and 
with  eye  uplifted  prayerfully  to  heaven,  before  you,  she 
implores  you :  'Oh !  give  me  back  the  husband  of  my 
youth  !  I  can  surrender  him  to  God — I  can  surrender 
him  to  my  country — but  oh'  spare  the  blow  which,  while 


140  STYLE    OF    SPEAKING. 

it  destroys  him,  dooms  me  to  lean  upon  a  broken  reed, 
and  to  a  life  without  hope.'  Fell  blow,  indeed,  which 
would  destroy  the  prospects  of  one  so  young  and  beauti- 
ful, which,  in  a  moment,  would 

"Change  the  current  of  her  sinless  years, 
"And  turn  her  pure  heart's  purest  blood  to  tears. 
"Her  arms  are  outstretched  to  receive  him,  and  their 
embrace  will  be  warmer  and  purer,  should  the  judgment 
of  this  court  vindicate  the  honor  and  fame  of  her  hus- 
band in  the  judgment  of  the  world." 

STYLE  OF  SPEAKING. 

Distinguished  speakers  of  all  ages  are  believed  to  have 
given  as  much  care  and  attention  to  the  art  of  oratory  as 
musicians  now  give  to  cultivate  the  rare  melody  of  har- 
monious and  inspiring  music. 

To  suppose  one  can  enter  on  the  field  so  full  of  genius 
as  the  lawyer  finds  on  his  early  admission  to  practice, 
without  some  system,  or  plan  of  meeting  this  essential, 
is  to  believe  more  than  men  ever  expect  of  any  other 
business.  The  lucky  man  in  commerce  is  one  brought 
up  from  the  habits  of  careful  experience.  To  the  trained 
sea  captain,  his  chart  is  simple.  The  brick  layer  or 
builder  is  a  student  of  books  and  designs ;  the  race-rider 
is  one  accustomed  to  horses,  and  even  the  woodsman  has 
learned  to  handle  his  axe  with  clever  skill  and  powerful 
force . 

Genius  alone  is  well  likened  to  a  rich  mine  of  metal, 
that  thought  and  skill  must  apply  to  uses  and  values.  It 
is  not  what  we  know,  but  how  we  make  use  of  that 
knowledge,  that  makes  the  world  better,  or  better  com- 
prehends its  beauty.  A  man  may  out-think  twenty  of 
his  neighbors  and  let  nineteen  of  the  twenty  out-do  him 
in  honor  and  usefulness  by  one  actual  accomplishment. 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES  I41 

I  have  seen  a  man  cradle  wheat  with  an  ease  and 
poetry  of  motion,  and  another  strike  the  scythe  into  the 
earth  at  every  other  clip  from  awkwardness.  I  have 
seen  the  mason  evenly  spread  his  mortar  that  a  new  hand 
would  throw  down  his  sleeve  with  a  single  attempt  to  fill 
his  trowel.  I  have  known  the  well-tuned  voice  of 
Phillips,  in  graceful  modulation,  to  so  charm  the  senses 
of  his  hearers  that  few  could  count  it  less  than  music, 
and  no  one  saw  the  art  of  concealing  art  that  he  had 
struggled  so  long  to  master. 

The  art  to  charm  the  senses  by  pleasing  speech  is  an 
enjoyment  greater  to  the  speaker  once  acquired  than  to 
rule  an  empire.  Gibbon  wrote  has  "Memoirs"  six  times 
to  secure  perfection.  Turner  walked  over  mountains 
and  in  the  water  till  they  colored  the  retina  of  his  eye 
with  intensity,  before  committing  che  colors  to  canvas. 
The  elegy  of  Gray  and  the  "Village"  of  Goldsmith,  with 
the  later  examples  of  endurance  by  Morse  and  Edison, 
are  apt  illustrations  that,  "the  hand  of  the  diligent 
maketh  rich"  in  oratory,  in  science,  and  all  useful  achieve- 
ments . 

I  am  not  urging  the  practice-before-a-looking-glass- 
style,  but  a  plan  of  speaking  of,  and  dealing  with,  sub- 
jects that  will  command  attention  and  secure  a  following. 
The  method  of  Judge  Curtis,  of  New  York,  is  to  think 
out  his  speeches  as  Sumner  did.  Van  Annan  wrote  in- 
cessantly during  trials,  while  each  masters  with  consum- 
mate care  the  details  of  his  case  in  his  own  peculiar  way. 

LINCOLN'S  ORATORY. 

The  late  Chas.  S.  May  thus  vividly  describes  Mr. 
Lincoln's  style  of  oratory  in  his  great  campaign  with 
Stephen  A .   Douglass : 

"Promptly  at  the  hour  appointed  for  the  meeting,  in 


142  LINCOLN  S    ORATORY. 

the  midst  of  a  buzz  of  eager  expectation  and  quite  ap- 
plause, following  through  the  main  aisle  of  the  hall  the 
chairman  of  the  evening,  there  entered  a  tall,  sallow- 
faced  man  with  disheveled  hair  and  lank,  angular  figure, 
dressed  in  plain  black — and  I  had  my  first  view  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln.  Preceded  by  the  chairman  he  mounted 
the  bare  platform  at  the  end  of  the  hall,  and  after  a  brief, 
formal  introduction,  stood  face  to  face  with  his  audience. 
I  should,  perhaps,  say,  stooped  apologetically  before  his 
audience,  for,  bowed  forward,  with  his  hand  on  a  low 
stand  where  he  had  deposited  a  few  scraps  of  newspaper 
memoranda,  he  presented  a  timid,  bashful  appearance. 
His  opening  sentences  were  not  more  reassuring  than  his 
attitude.  They  were  hesitating,  involved  and  awkward, 
as  he  went  on  to  depreciate  his  ability  to  follow  so  dis- 
tinguished a  speaker  as  Gen .  Cass,  of  Michigan,  who  had 
spoken  the  night  before  in  the  same  hall.  Indeed,  so 
lame  and  halting  were  his  first  words,  and  so  awkward 
and  unpromising  his  whole  appearance  that,  recalling  the 
eulogy  of  the  party  paper,  I  said  to  myself,  'Can  this  be 
one  of  the  first  orators  of  Illinois  ?  Is  this  what  they  call 
eloquence  in  Chicago?'  But  before  my  disappointment 
had  time  to  deepen  into  disgust,  the  speaker  began  to  re- 
cover himself,  he  raised  himself  from  the  table  to  his 
iv.'A  height,  his  language  began  to  flow  more  smoothly 
and  grammatically,  he  began  to  uncoil  himself  in  mind 
and  body,  so  to  speak,  and  very  soon  I  was  listening  with 
rapt  and  deepening  interest  to  his  words. 

Of  the  speech  itself,  which  held  that  weighty  and  in- 
telligent audience  for  more  than  two  hours,  I  still  retain 
a  perfect  and  vivid  impression.  Delivered  in  an  animat- 
ed, earnest,  conversational  manner,  with  a  clear  and 
pleasant  but  penetrating  tenor  voice,  with  no  attempt  at 
oratory  or  fine  language,  it  was  a  candid,  a  convincing 
and  powerful  political  argument,  addressed  to  the  reason 


ART    OF    ADVOCATES.  143 

and  conscience  of  his  hearers .  Nothing  could  exceed  its 
perfect  fairness  of  tone  and  statement,  and  from  be- 
ginning to  end  there  was  nothing  to  detract  from  its 
dignity — not  an  epithet  or  coarse  expression,  not  a  single 
attempt  to  provoke  applause,  or  create  a  laugh  by  anec- 
dote, or  joke,  or  stale  wit,  or  appeal  to  passion  or 
prejudice.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  famous  as  a  story-teller, 
but  he  did  not  tell  his  stories  in  his  speeches.  He  was 
full  of  wit  and  drollery,  but  he  used  these  in  private .  The 
innate  seriousness  and  earnestness  of  the  man  lifted  him 
in  his  public  efforts  to  a  plane  above  these  diversions. 
But  his  logic  was  overwhelming.  Proceeding  from 
premises  stated  with  the  utmost  fairness,  and  with  trans- 
parent clearness,  it  moved  to  its  conclusions  with  a  force 
and  power  and  thoroughness  that  left  no  room  or  quarter 
for  sophistry  or  evasion. 

"In  replying  to  the  plansible  and  specious  arguments 
and  positions  of  his  great  rival,  who  was  a  master  of 
political  attack  and  fence,  he  had  abundant  opportunity 
to  display  his  great  power  of  analysis  and  his  keen  dis- 
cernment of  the  weak  points  of  his  adversary . .  I  re- 
member, too,  that  he  had  a  quaint  and  original  way  of 
putting  things.  Coming  to  a  particularly  untruthful 
and  audacious  proposition  of  his  opponent,  he  said:  'Now, 
it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  answer  such  an  argument  as 
this.  It  gains  strength  and  plausibility,  paradoxical  as 
it  may  seem,  from  its  very  unreasonableness,  for  when  a 
man  like  Judge  Douglas  makes  such  a  proposition,  a  man 
who  has  been  so  long  in  public  life  and  in  a  position  to 
know,  it  is  natural  for  men  to  say,  "This  thing  looks  so 
all  wrong  and  preposterous  to  us  that  we  may  be  mis- 
taken after  all,  for  he  must  see  something  that  we  don't 
see.'  "  A  spontaneous  burst  of  quiet  but  general  ap- 
plause showed  that  the  audience  appreciated  the  keen, 
fine  point. 


144  WEBSTER. 

"I  will  not  undertake  in  this  brief  article  to  give  even 
the  substance  of  this  great  speech.  Mr.  Lincoln  had 
momentous  questions  to  discuss — questions  of  Liberty,  of 
Slavery,  of  Patriotism — and  he  treated  them  in  a  way  I 
have  never  seen  surpassed.  Of  all  our  great  political 
speakers  of  this  generation — and  I  have  heard  them  all — 
he  has  been  to  me  the  model  stump  orator.  Discarding 
all  the  tricks  and  artifices  and  stock  expressions  so  com- 
mon in  this  style  of  address,  he  literally  reasoned  with 
the  people,  and  lifted  them  up  to  the  plane  of  his  own 
patriotic  and  moral  earnestness.  While  it  was  not  elo- 
quence in  the  traditional  and  technical  sense,  it  realized 
the  very  essence  and  definition  of  eloquence — per- 
suasion . " 

WEBSTER. 

His  chief  prominence  in  law  was  his  art  of  advocacy. 
In  language  powerful  and  dramatic,  in  delivery  strong, 
logical  and  impressive,  in  manner  dignified  and  majestic, 
his  name,  fame,  tone,  character  and  presence  increased 
the  strength  of  his  well-worded  sentences.  In  any  city 
and  any  country  Webster's  speeches  would  have  attracted 
large  audiences  on  great  occasions.  Other  lawyers  have 
known  a  wider  range  of  authorities,  many  have  mastered 
the  facts  with  as  accurate  analysis,  but  few  men  ever 
combined  such  strength  of  voice,  power  of  thought,  or 
carried  such  conviction  with  his  delivery  as  did  Daniel 
Webster  before  a  jury,  in  argument,  or  a  Senate  debate. 
His  character  and  speeches  stand  out  alone,  a  monu- 
ment to  American  advocacy. 

The  style  of  Webster's  speeches  was  in  perfect  har- 
mony with  his  nature.  He  was  large,  heavy,  labored  and 
strong,  never  hurried,  often  great,  and  occasionally 
sublime.     But  his  nature  was  sublime.     He  feared  only 


akt   or    ADVOCATES.  145 

Choate,  and  Choate  feared  Webster  alone .     Webster  won 
cases  by  logic ;  Choate  by  eloquence . 

The  late  Senator  Stevens  said  of  Webster:  "I  shall 
never  forget  my  first  trip  away  from  home,  nor  the  im- 
pressions it  made  on  me.  I  was  quite  a  young  man,  and 
some  business  fell  into  my  hands  that  carried  me  north. 
I  had  never  been  as  far  as  Washington  before,  and,  of 
course,  I  wanted  to  see  what  was  there  to  be  seen.  I 
went  into  the  Senate  gallery  and  took  my  seat.  I  could 
easily  pick  out  the  prominent  men  by  the  pictures  I  had 
seen  of  them.  Pretty  soon  a  question  came  up,  and  the 
President  of  the  Senate  announced  that  Mr.  Webster 
was  entitled  to  the  floor.  Of  course  I  was  very  much 
gratified  that  I  was  to  hear  him.  He  arose  and  began 
speaking  in  an  ordinary  conversational  way.  I  think  he 
took  his  snuff  occasionally.  He  never  made  a  gesture 
from  the  time  he  opened  until  he  closed .  I  thought  it  all 
sound  doctrine,  but  I  was  convinced  that  I  knew  a  dozen 
college  boys  who  could  have  beaten  him  speaking.  The 
next  morning  I  picked  up  a  paper.  There  was  his 
speech  headed:  'Mr.  Webster's  Great  Speech  on  the 
Finances.  Pshaw!  I  thought,  they  don't  call  that  a 
great  speech,  do  they?  I  saw  another  paper;  there  it 
was  again,  headed  'Mr.  Webster's  Great  Speech  on  the 
Finances.'  I  went  to  Baltimore.  There  they  had  Mr. 
Webster's  great  speech  on  the  finances.  I  reached  Phila- 
delphia, and  everybody  was  talking  about  Mr.  Webster's 
great  speech  on  the  finances.  J  got  to  New  York. 
There  everything  was  in  a  ferment  over  Mr.  Webster's 
great  speech  on  the  finances.  It  was  the  same  way  in 
Boston.  So  I  concluded  that  it  must,  indeed,  be  a  great 
speech.  It  put  me  to  thinking,  and  I  made  up  my  mind 
that  it  was  not  the  way  a  man  said  anything,  but  what  he 
said  made  him  an  orator." 


NDEX 


l-AGK. 

Ready  Lawyers i 

Lawyers  Who  Said  Things 2 

To  Start  in  Law 6 

The  Procession <S 

Lawyers'  Abuse  of  Witnesses. 9 

If  and  It  in  Law 1  2 

The  Lawyer's  Friend  is  the  Trial  Judge 15 

Who  Gets  the  Child  ? 16 

The  Fit  of  "  It  "  in  Law 17 

Law  Life  Events 20 

Missing  the  Target 22 

How  Did  They  Do  It? 23 

This  is  the  Invoice 2\ 

The  Luxury  of  Law 25 

A  Rule  to  Start :.... 27 

Who  Win  Out? 28 

The  Useof  Tools 29 

Self  Defense 30 

Lincoln's  First  Murder  Case 32 

Lincoln's  Greatness 35 

Boy  and  Man  Lawyers 37 

Does  Law  Pay? 3S 

Bide  Your  Time 40 

Two  Strange  Defenses 42 

Strikes  and  Boycotts 43 

The  Up-Hill  Start 4* 

An  Eloquent  Plea 51 

Won  by  a  Joke 53 

The  Teachers  Peril 55 

Saved  by  a  Picture 62 

Separating  Witnesses 64 

His  First  Case 67 

To  Prepare  a  Speech 74 

The  Right  Thing 76 


TACK. 

Preparedness 78 

How  Is  It  ? 80 

Saved  by  a  Song 80 

The  Right  Start 82 

The  Genius  of  Pleasure 85 

Six  Wishes 86 

The  Kind  King 88 

The  Miser's  Hand 92 

The  Legend  of  Panthea 94 

Books  and  Events. .....  98 

Our  Childhood's  Home 100 

The  Murder  of  Lincoln 103 

Nature's  Gentleman 107 

Flowers  on  the  Water 108 

Habits  and  Training no 

Kill  the  Squirrel 1 1 1 

Each  One's  Part 112 

The  Value  of  a  Man 115 

Stick  to  It ]  19 

Our  Opportunity 121 

Time  is  Opportunity 125 

The  World  is  Larger. 129 

McKinley's  Murder. 131 

The  Thugs  Were  INo  Worse 134 

What  is  a  Book?. 134 

General  Harrison's  Style 136 

Inger>oll  Closing  in  the  Star  Route  Case 137 

Arnold's  Eloquence 139 

Style  of  Speaking 140 

Lincoln's  Oratory 141 

Webster 144 


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